A Cinderella Fairy Tail
by EllieOptimistic
Summary: As her mother lays dying, Princess Lucy Heartfilia is faced with the task of finding a husband so that she may become the next Queen of Fiore. Meanwhile Natsu Dragneel is stuck on his absent father's farm, slaving away under the authority of his evil stepmother. Will they find their happily ever after? Or will they realize that this isn't a Fairy Tale at all? Based on Cinderella.
1. Chapter 1: Once Upon a Time

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hi everyone, thanks for checking out this story! I just wanted to tell you a few things before you dive into the first chapter. First of all, this story is set in an AU although it is fairly similar to the actual Fairy Tail world. For example the name of the kingdom is Fiore, but obviously our characters are going to be in much different situations. Secondly, if you didn't get it from the title/summary, this story is based off the main plot of Cinderella. I just flipped the roles a little bit and made Lucy the royalty while Natsu is the one with a very evil stepmother. Don't worry, I'm definitely not going to follow the story line of Cinderella exactly. You can expect a lot of twists, turns and probably a much more realistic take on one of the most famous Fairy Tales in history.**

 **Disclaimer: Of course, I do not own Fairy Tail. But I'm guessing you guys already knew that.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 1

Once Upon a Time

Lucy gripped her mother's hand tightly. While her own fingers were smooth and strong, her mothers' were frail and withered far too much for her age.

"Lucy, no need to hold on so tightly." Layla whispered to her daughter from her place on the bed. She was lying down with her torso propped up on a mountain of pillows consisting of the finest silk and extravagant lacy patterns. "You're hurting me."

"Oh right, sorry mom." She replied, slightly embarrassed as she loosened her iron grip into something more gentle. Her mother smiled weakly and then closed her eyes, drifting off into sleep.

The pillows weren't the only luxurious items in the room. Far from it, the walls were a deep scarlet and the floors were covered with polished gray stone. The bed itself stood prominently as the centerpiece of the room with its golden silk bedspread and tall head board extending up with wall with a mahogany sheen.

Lucy was sitting beside her mother, dressed in a blue satin dress that hugged her body tightly before flaring out into a full skirt decorated with an intricate design in a lighter shade of blue. Standing not too far away was her father, a tall confident man dressed in the finest green suit money could buy. In fact, the only thing in the large bedroom that wasn't perfect or sparkling was Lucy's mother.

Layla's face, which was normally clear and bright, resembled a pale shade of gray, matching the toneless monotony of her eyes, which were covered by drooping eyelids. She was dressed in a simple white nightgown, although that garment was hidden beneath the heap of blankets that covered her as she rested. Despite the layers of warmth, the sickly woman still shivered.

"Capricorn." Jude, Lucy's father, called out in a steady voice upon seeing his wife in discomfort.

Immediately, a tall man dressed impeccably in a black suit entered the room. He had neatly groomed white hair and was wearing sunglasses that blocked any outside view of his eyes.

"Yes, your majesty." Capricorn dipped his head.

"Fetch Layla another blanket. The queen is cold."

Capricorn nodded once more and left the room without a word. Lucy swallowed with worry. Her mother hadn't been of good health for many years, but this was the worst Lucy had seen her. Her mother had always been able to walk and put up a strong pretense for others, but currently, the woman was helpless and not able to even feed herself let alone continue her duties as Queen of Fiore. Lucy closed her eyes and prayed that this was nothing severe and her mother's illness could be cured.

"Dad." Lucy whispered softly. "Is mom going to be okay?"

She didn't dare look at her father's face, preferring to study her mother instead. The woman had only fallen back asleep, but her unmoving form caused Lucy to wonder what it would be like if she never woke up. Layla twitched in her sleep, causing Lucy's heart to skip a beat.

"We will just have to wait for the doctor to return with the results of his tests." Jude replied, diplomatically. Lucy sighed. She shouldn't have expected anything else from her dad. He was a King, after all.

As if her father's comment summoned his return, sure enough a knock was heard on the door before the doctor entered. He was a man of average height and his most defining feature was the stark white lab coat he wore over his wealthy clothes.

"I have her majesty's test results." The doctor said slowly, standing a good distance away from the royal family with his clipboard in hand.

"And?" Her father prompted him.

"It is not good news, I'm afraid." He said. "I've detected abnormally high levels of ethernano in her blood. It seems that the magic particles are interfering with her ordinary bodily functions. This ailment is what we call the ethernano invasion virus, or EIV. It is a very serious condition and there is no known cure. Unfortunately there is nothing I can do to help her recover."

With those few words Lucy felt a thousand knives rip through her heart. She closed her eyes and pretended it was all a dream. How could this be real? Her mother couldn't be…

"What do you mean?" Jude said angrily, his voice raspy and uneven. "She will still be able to recover without your medicine, won't she?"

"Of course it is possible, but… not likely. Such a thing has never been done before."

"I've heard of this virus before. I've heard stories about people all over Fiore who have died from this pestilence, but I never would have imagined it would invade my own home…"

"If I may, your majesty. EIV has only started to become more prominent rather recently and very little is known about it. The only thing we are confident in is the fact that it is deadly. There have been no confirmed cases of recovery thus far."

Lucy started to shake her head in denial while Jude fell silent for a few moments. He dipped his head and stared at his feet, shielding his eyes with a hand on his forehead. He let out a deep sigh containing hundreds of emotions that he could not show on his face.

"How much longer does she have?" He asked.

"6 months, by my guess, your majesty." The doctor replied.

Lucy collapsed onto her mother's chest and cried into her night gown, feeling the whole world crash down around her.

XXX

Natsu's hands were dirty and his back hurt. That's what happens when you spend hours upon hours pulling weeds out of the ground.

The teenage boy was in the middle of a giant field of strawberry plants. There were countless rows of tiny leafy bushes that were just beginning to bud with small red berries that looked tantalizingly delicious to the boy after hours of hard work. Spotting another weed that was leaching from the soil he worked so hard to fertilize, he plunged his hands into the dirt and pulled it out, tossing the weed into the bag he carried beside him. In vain, he wished that strawberry plants were taller. They were only about a foot high, so they did little to protect or shade him from the harsh sun overhead.

"Hey, Happy, do you want to go get me some water?" Natsu asked his little friend, who was sitting on the ground beside him, watching him work with mild interest.

"No way, I'm not your servant, Natsu!" He protested dramatically, crossing his arms with gusto.

"Ah come on! It's hot and you're not helping me at all!"

"I help you with the chores all the time, but I need a break."

"So do I!" Natsu said as he ripped another weed from the earth. "But that's not exactly an option for me."

"I know…" Happy sighed, looking at his friend guiltily. "Fine, I'll go get you some water."

"Thanks, little buddy. You're the best." Natsu said, brightening up with a smile.

Happy scampered away and the boy allowed himself a few moments to watch his friend go. Happy was a cat, a small blue cat that was able to talk and he was his best friend in the whole wide world.

Well, that being said, Natsu's world wasn't all that wide. He was born on a farm and had lived there his whole life, only leaving for a quick trip to the market or walk in the woods. Up until he was eleven years old, he didn't mind being confined the ranch. For one, it was beautiful. It was centered in the middle of a thick forest that didn't allow for any neighbors and forced their dirt driveway to be several miles long. That shabby road led directly to the most beautiful three-story ranch house that sported white paneled walls, large windows that would let light stream into airy interior rooms, and a wide wrap-around patio that was adorned with wicker chairs and even a swinging bench handing from the balcony above it. Behind the house and to the right was a classic bright red barn where the horses stayed for the night and cows would graze all day in the fenced field to the side. Directly behind the house and extending for acres beyond it where fields of strawberries, blueberries and pumpkin.

It was strange. He used to love the farm and fields with all his heart. He used to enjoy coming out here, tending to the crops and caring for the animals. The house used to feel so warm and the fruit he picked used to seem so bright.

But then the witch and her two bastard sons ruined his life.

Now Natsu was angry with the memories, tugging at the weeds with more rigor and strength as he remembered the sequence of events that changed his life from peaceful to the worse sort of hell.

It all started when his mother died. That happened when he was six. Back then he had a happy family. His father Igneel provided authority and warm support whenever necessary while his mother, Grandeeney, contained all the heart. He had precious few memories of her, but from what he did remember, she was kind, gentle and full of love. Rounding out his family was his younger sister, Wendy, and she was so young when their mother died that she had no memory of her at all.

Natsu grimaced at the reason _why_ Wendy never got to know their mother. Grandeeney died in childbirth. Wendy made it but their mom did not.

That was one of the darkest days of his life and it definitely was the worst for his father. Igneel was never the same after he lost his wife. After a short period of depression and emptiness, he brought home another woman, claiming that he was in love with her. They were married within months and she moved into their farm home, bringing her two children with her. Suddenly Natsu found himself with an extended family that actually turned out to be no family at all.

Natsu hated the lot of them from the beginning, but his father was too blind to see it. He became obsessed with his new wife and although he still did the best he could to set time aside for his children, nothing seemed right any more. That woman was selfish, controlling and clearly was taking advantage of both his father's money and emotional state. Natsu thought that things were as bad as they could be, but he was wrong.

Things got worse.

When he was seven, his father disappeared out of the blue. He never said goodbye and he never came back. Eventually, Igneel was declared dead and his wife inherited everything, including his farm, his wealth and his children. The newly widowed woman, however, showed no signs of grief as she promptly adjusted to a luxurious lifestyle that was all her own. She forced Natsu and Wendy to do all the farm work and house work while she and her own two sons stayed inside, screwed around, and did whatever the hell they wanted while Igneel's two children were treated like dirt.

That had been Natsu's life for eleven years now. He was eighteen and there was no sign of change in his life. Every day he would wake up at dawn and do his work out in the fields until dusk. He would sleep for the night and then wake up and do it all again the next day. None of it was fair. If only his father knew how his children were being treated-

Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by a high pitched scream.

Natsu jerked his head up from his work and saw two figures approaching him. His stomach dropped as he recognized them immediately.

It was Sting and Rogue, his two evil stepbrothers. Although they were twins, the only common feature between them was their height. Sting sported impeccably styled blonde hair and blue eyes while his brother was rougher around the edges with his drooping black hair and narrow black eyes. Both were dressed in spotless tailored clothing that was void of any wrinkle and was made of the finest materials. Their skin was smooth and unblemished and their hands probably didn't even know what the word "callous" meant.

Most disturbing, however, was what Rogue was clutching in his pampered hands.

It was Happy. Rogue held the small blue cat firmly in one hand, gripping the top of his head so that the rest of his fragile body hung down limply, swinging back and forth as the teenage boy walked. Natsu gritted his teeth in anger and balled his hands up into a tight fist.

"Let go of him." Natsu ordered in a deathly low voice as he stood to his feet so that he could look at his "brothers" face to face. Sting only laughed at his request.

"Look Rogue." He said, pretending as though he came across something rather hilarious. "The little farm boy thinks that he can order _us_ around."

"I'm not going to say it again." Natsu said. "Let him go, or I'll make you let him go."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Sting asked, tilting his head with a confident smirk.

Natsu cracked his knuckles and returned a similar grin.

"You pretty boys spend all day inside playing piano and eating fancy cheese. You would stand no chance against me."

For a moment, a hint of hesitation flashed through Sting's eyes as he contemplated what Natsu was saying. However, he quickly regained his confidence as he remembered who was in control.

"That's bold talk coming from a _slave_." He spat. "You must realize that's all you are to us. You and your little bitch of a sister-"

And then Natsu punched him in the face. He smashed his eager fist into his stepbrother's perfect pale skin, enjoying the feeling of finally unloading his anger on someone that he truly despised. He could allow himself to be hurt and made fun of for days, but he wasn't going to let _anyone_ say a word against his sister.

Sting let out a yelp of pain and fell to the ground from the force of the punch.

"You little…" He growled in rage as he slowly stood back up, brushing the dirt off of his fluffy white pants. "I'm going to make sure you pay for that."

"What? Are you going to tell your mother on me?" Natsu taunted, still angry, still wanting to fight. It was like he had a fire raging in his belly and he wanted nothing more than to unleash it right then and there.

"Yes. But not before I've finished having my fun with you." He said in a venomous, maniacal voice. Then he turned to his brother, who was still holding the whimpering blue cat. "Rogue!"

"Whatever." Rogue said, rolling his eyes. He then placed both of his hands around the cat's neck, as if he were about to choke him.

"Get on your knees." Sting ordered. "Or that cat you are so fond of dies."

"You wouldn't."

"I would." Rouge answered evenly, tightening his grip around Happy's neck. The cat squealed and Natsu's eyes went round with fear. He dropped down to his knees just like Sting asked.

"Now bow to me." Sting said with a sick smile on his face.

"I ain't bowing to you." Natsu spat.

"Then his death is on you."

Natsu growled in frustration. He looked from Sting, to Rogue to his little furry friend, who was scared out of his mind.

 _Just suck it up and do it._ Natsu told himself harshly. Going against every muscle in his body he bowed before Sting. The blond teen laughed with pleasure.

"Now kiss my boots and don't forget to address me with respect."

Natsu clamped down on his teeth hard. He was shaking with anger, but there was nothing he could do. He wanted nothing more than to stand up, punch Sting again in his arrogant face with all his power and then take Happy back. He wanted to break Wendy out of the Ranch house and take her with him to any other place than here. He used to love this ranch so much, but now all he felt for it was hatred. He was trapped here and had no choice but to sacrifice everything that he stood for.

"Yes… master." Natsu choked out the bitter words and even more reluctantly dipped his head to kiss Sting's boots. It was abrupt and brief, but he still felt like all of his pride had disappeared on the spot.

"Idiot." Sting laughed some more and then kicked Natsu square in the jaw while his face was still so close to his stepbrother's feet.

Natsu grunted at the dull pain as his head was snapped backwards in a whip-like jerk.

"No wonder you never have any woman." Sting laughed. "With a mouth that kisses like that, not even a whore would date you."

All Natsu could do was glare at him with fiery eyes from his spot on the ground.

"We done here?" Rogue asked, looking rather bored with the whole situation.

"Yeah, whatever, this slave isn't worth my time." Sting agreed. "You can let the animal go."

Rouge released Happy from his grip; the cat dropped to the ground with a thud and began gasping for air.

"Don't forget to clean up all the horse shit in the barn!" Sting jeered at him one final time over his shoulder before the twins walked away, back towards Igneel's beloved ranch house.

"Damn it." Natsu cursed to himself before looking at his little friend who was finally regaining control over his breathing. "You okay, little buddy?"

"I'm fine." He squeaked. "What about you, Natsu?"

"Same as usual."

"That bad, huh?"

And so, Natsu resumed his chores for that day, finishing the weeding before moving on to the stables to shovel piles and piles of horse manure.

XXX

Lucy's corset was tight. She liked the way it hugged her waist and made it look tiny, giving her a lovely hourglass shape fitting of a princess. Nevertheless she maintained a habit of complaining about how tight it was. Sometimes it would feel like she could barely breathe as the hard fabric was tightened relentlessly against her figure. Today, however, she didn't mind the strain or stiffness. The truth was, over the past few days since her mother's diagnosis, she would often think that the corset was the only thing holding her together.

She was standing anxiously outside of the council room. Her father had summoned her for an "important meeting" and she was waiting for the King's council to adjourn before entering.

She leaned back on the stone wall of the castle corridor, not caring that a princess should never compromise her proper silhouette with such a casual stance. She noticed that the two castle guards standing stiffly in front of the council room doors glanced briefly in her direction, probably commenting snidely in their heads. Lucy really didn't care though. She had lived in this castle all her life and she had grown used to perpetually being under the watch of someone. Whether it was her handmaids, castle guards, servants, or nobility, Lucy always felt like she was under observance twenty four hours a day. That was one of the few drawbacks of living in such a fine castle. Positives included living in Crocus, the capital of Fiore, having maids that could style your hair to perfection every day of the week, and discovering the best spots in the ancient, winding castle to read a great book.

Most people didn't know that behind the grand throne room of the Fiore Castle was a more covert meeting place for the King's council which consisted of the King and only his most trusted advisors that helped him run the kingdom. Until recently her mother Layla would also take place in the council meetings but these days her health would not allow it.

Lucy only had to wait a few more minutes before the meeting broke and several of Fiore's most influential noblemen exited the chamber with the usual blank faces and wealthy clothing. Lucy straightened up immediately upon their presence and each one of them dipped his or her head in her direction, acknowledging the only princess of the kingdom.

"You are looking lovely today, your highness." Bob, a fat but amiable man, greeted her as he passed. His appearance was somewhat unsettling with his crimson lips and bald head, but he was always nice to Lucy. She had known him since she was very young; he was the head of a large trade federation in Fiore and has served as the King's head economic advisor for the past thirty years.

"Thank you." Lucy smiled and dipped her head in turn. Normally she would try to extend the conversation, but these days she never really felt up to chatting.

"My best wishes to her highness, Queen Layla." He said with a very sympathetic smile. "May she regain her health soon."

"I appreciate it. Have a wonderful afternoon."

"And you as well, princess." He replied with a hearty wink, before walking away with his peers. At his words, Lucy felt another slight pang in her chest as she remembered that the true status of her mother's health was being kept a secret to all those outside the King's closest circle. He did not want to raise panic throughout the kingdom, nor did he want to worry his council more than necessary. Her father simply told them that Layla had contracted a serious and possibly severe illness. He just didn't tell them that the possibility of her death wasn't really a possibility at all.

According to the doctor, it was certain.

Last to emerge from the council room was her father. Lucy smiled as she saw his broad shoulders, golden hair, full beard, and golden crown topping his head. He looked every bit the role of a powerful king, appearing steady but sympathetic, strong but intelligent.

"Ah, there you are, Lucy. Please come in, we have a lot to discuss."

She nodded and followed her dad back into the room, through the large doors and into a large but simple room with a long ovular table at the center of it. At the head of the table was a plush chair with a high back. Jude took his seat in it and motioned for Lucy to sit in the smaller chair to his right. As the door closed behind them, Lucy realized that she was alone with her father and he had a very serious look on his face. Suddenly, the girl was wishing that he looked a little _less_ like a king.

"What is it we need to talk about?" She asked anxiously, clamping her hands together in her lap.

"Things are changing, Lucy. Life goes on whether we want it to or not." He began slowly, letting out a heavy sigh.

Lucy didn't know what to say, so she didn't say anything at all. She didn't like how this conversation was going so far, so she decided to just stay silent for the moment and let her father say what he was meaning to.

"I'm sure you've covered this in your lessons regarding Fiore Law, but I need to remind you of the law concerning the presence of a king and queen."

"Yes." Lucy nodded, remembering the lesson well. "The law says that there must be a partnership of a king and queen ruling Fiore at all times. It's a rule that not only prevents dictatorship, but also promotes unity between our nation's leaders that is meant to transcend through all social classes."

As she recited a familiar quote from one of her tutors, Lucy slowly began to realize the implications of the law. It hadn't really meant much to her before while her parents were happily married and at the helm of Fiore, but with her mother's illness…

"Yes, yes and I'm sure you already realize what it means for us. If… _when,_ Layla passes, I will be without a wife and be in violation of the law. I could, of course, take another wife, but I feel doing so would be an insult to your mother's memory. What I must do is clear. When the day of your mother's death comes, I will step down as king."

"What?!" Lucy immediately stood to her feet in protest. "You can't step down! You're the best king Fiore has ever had. You're kind and fair and the people love you-"

Her father chuckled at her outburst, throwing his head back in what was probably his first genuine laugh in two days.

"Now, Lucy, there is no reason to be upset. The world will not end if I am no longer the one sitting on the throne."

"I know, but… I mean, you are the king. Why can't you just change the law yourself?" Lucy sat back down in her chair with her arms crossed.

"If I did that, then I wouldn't be a good king anymore, would I? The law is the law for a reason and it is not my place to change what has held true for so many years."

"That doesn't change the fact that the law is stupid." Lucy grumbled. Her dad allowed himself another chuckle, before returning to his serious demeanor.

"Nevertheless even we must adhere to it."

"But if you do step down as King, then what will happen? I guess I'm next in line, but I'm not married and there's no way I will be in six months…"

Lucy trailed off as she made eye contact with her father. No, she didn't like where this conversation was going at all.

"That is what I wanted to discuss with you." He said stiffly. "A combination of selfishness and pride prompts me to want the crown to stay within our family line. As I nor Layla have any immediate relatives to turn to, _you_ are the one who must become Queen in order for the Heartfilia name to remain on the throne."

"That still doesn't change the fact that I'm not married." Lucy said softly.

"I know this is a lot to ask of you, Lucy, and I know that this is not how you expected to take up my mantle, but I must ask it of you anyway."

"Ask me what?" Lucy said, although she already knew the question.

"I want to reassure you that this _is_ ultimately your choice. I would never force you to do anything you don't want to do."

"Ask me what?" Lucy repeated. For some reason, probably because of the overload of emotions she had constantly rolling around in her heart, the princess began to feel tears well up in her eyes as she waited for her father to ask the question that had the potential to completely shatter any dreams she had for the future.

"Lucy. Will you protect our family's legacy by walking in my footsteps to the throne of Fiore? Will you sacrifice your future freedom for the betterment of our people? Will you, in the next six months, find a suitable husband and future king of this nation to marry? Will you do this for me… and for your mother?"

Lucy felt her face go pale. This was all happening too fast. Two days ago she was a carefree princess who dreamed about going places, meeting people, and following her dreams for years and years to come while her parents happily ruled the kingdom. Yes, she considered the future possibility of becoming Queen as it was her right and irrefutable destiny, but that notion always seemed so far off in the future that she could never even consider it fully.

But here she was, faced with the question of whether or not she could greet her destiny sooner than expected. Could she really become Queen of Fiore in just six months? Could she truly marry someone while she was still so young? Even more frightening, could she honestly find a worthy husband in such a short amount of time? Would she love him? Would he love her? Was she doomed to spend the rest of her life in a loveless arranged marriage while ruling over a kingdom that she barely even knew?

And there her father was, looking at her intensely with pleading, desperate eyes that were begging like a king should never have to beg. Lucy thought of her mother, slowly dying in a lubricant bed.

If she said no, her mother would never see her get married.

"Can I have some time to think about it?" Lucy asked her dad abruptly, silencing her thoughts with the memory of her mother.

"Of course, take all the time you need." He said, relived that he did not receive an immediate no. They both stood up and Lucy quickly excused herself, hurrying swiftly out of the room, trying to keep her tears from falling before she made it back to the solitude of her bedroom.

Even though she told her father that she needed time to think, deep down in her heart she knew that she could never refuse.

Her whole life was about to change and there was no way that she was ready for it.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Well, that wraps up the first chapter! How'd you like it? Unlike the first story I posted on here, I'm writing this one as I go. As a person who normally likes to plan everything out, that is a little intimidating for me. However, I simply did not want to wait because I'm really excited about this story and I wanted you guys to see it as soon as possible.**

 **I'm sorry for making Sting and Rogue so mean! I just had like this crazy stroke of inspiration in which I realized that they would make the** ** _perfect_** **evil step-siblings.**

 **I know you probably are left with a ton of questions, but I do know where I'm going with this despite not having the whole thing planned out!**

 **And finally, I am going to put in a shameless plug for my other story,** **A New World** **. It's all complete except for a pending epilogue, so if you enjoyed my writing here and want more, I recommend you go check it out. It's another Nalu romance in which Natsu gets transported to another world called America, where Lucy is currently living as an ordinary teenage girl.**

 **Okay so this author's note was a little all over the place, but I'll just finish by saying that I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and stay tuned for more!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Shadow of Magic

Chapter 2

The Shadow of Magic

"Maybe you should look at this whole situation as a good thing."

"How so?" Lucy replied, raising a skeptical eyebrow at her blue haired friend.

"Well you get to marry a handsome prince." The girl replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Do you have any idea how many girls dream about that opportunity?"

"Are you one of those girls, Levy?" Lucy was only teasing, but to her surprise, the other girl's eyes lit up like fireworks as she clutched her hands together against her chest.

"Of course I am!" She responded enthusiastically. "I'm ready to meet a man and have him whisk me away to a faraway place were we'll get married, have children- one boy and two girls- and live the rest of our lives together in a stylish cottage on the edge of Fiore. I'll stay in touch of course, but I'll be busy reading since my husband is totally going to buy me a library. I'll settle for him not being royalty, but he will certainly be wealthy since he is a hard worker and very responsible."

Lucy threw her head back and laughed at the idealistic fantasy.

"Seems like you got it all figured out." She commented.

"All I'm waiting for is the right guy." She agreed.

Lucy absolutely adored her best friend, Levy McGarden. They had known each other ever since Lucy was just a young girl and received her one and only lady-in-waiting. At first, Lucy did not understand why she needed a personal assistant to accompany her throughout her day to day activities, but as years wore on, the princess had no doubt that Levy was an essential part of her life. Yes, the small and plucky blue haired girl helped her select dresses to wear and organized her day to day schedule, but she had become so much more than an assistant to Lucy. The girls had quickly become best friends and Lucy considered Levy to be her most trusted companion.

"Well whoever that guy is, he's lucky to have you." Lucy replied fondly, remembering the main reason why Levy was a lady-in-waiting in the first place. Levy was born into a noble family, but was relatively low-ranking in society and didn't receive much esteem or acknowledgement from other families. To top it off, she was the youngest of four sisters and her family knew that they would struggle to find a suitable man for her to marry. And so, Levy's parents sent her to Fiore's castle where she would eventually be selected as the princess's lady. This gave her higher social status and a better opportunity for a beneficial marriage.

"I think your future husband should be considered the lucky one!" Levy replied. "You can literally choose any man in Fiore or a prince from a faraway country with a cute accent. All you have to do is point at the most attractive man in the room and he would _beg_ to be your husband."

"I think that's a little bit of an exaggeration and besides, it's not just about looks." Lucy sighed, shaking her head. "I have to pick the man that would make the most suitable king. I would be doing my country a disservice if that wasn't my first priority."

"Well I still think that your first priority should be love." Levy stated confidently.

"Love? I don't even know what that means and I'm surely not going to find out in the next six months." Lucy said, brushing stray locks of blonde hair out of her eyes and behind her ear. After the news her father gave her yesterday, Lucy had returned to her room to sleep on the earth-shattering choice she had to make. In the morning, she told Levy everything about her mother's condition and what her father wanted her to do.

"You never know." The blue haired lady shrugged as she sat on Lucy's plush purple silk bedspread while the princess continued to pace her bedroom.

"I do know." She stated firmly. "It's just not going to happen for me and that's okay. What I need to focus on his what is best for my country."

"But what about what's best for you?" Levy was clearly worried about her as she looked at her friend with pleading brown eyes. "You don't have to go through with this, you know. You haven't told your father yet. You can still say no. It's not fair that you don't get to marry a person that you love."

"I'm the Princess of Fiore and heir to the throne." Lucy nodded once, trying to convince herself as well as her friend. "I was blessed to be in this position that comes with so many advantages and if that means that I need to make a few personal sacrifices, then I am more than willing to do so. It all comes with the job."

"You're going to be an amazing queen, Lu." Levy said warmly, letting her look of concern change into pride. "I only hope that you'll still allow me to be your lady-in-waiting once you take the crown."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

XXX

Since Lucy's bedroom was located in a tower separate but close to the royal family's living quarters, all Lucy had to do to visit her father was walk down a winding staircase and travel across the hall to her parent's parlor.

The parlor was extravagantly decorated as usual and served as a living room area for the royal family with several couches, tables and chairs. Across the room was a door that led to the King and Queen's bedroom, where her mother was currently sleeping.

Hearing his daughter's entrance, the King emerged from the bedroom to greet his only heir. Lucy could see how tensed up his whole body was as he awaited her final decision.

"Lucy, good morning. I hope you slept well."

"As well as I could under the circumstances." Lucy replied. The pair sat down on one of the couches. "How is mom doing?"

"Same as before." He replied somberly, shaking his head in regret. "That damn magic is torturing her. And it's all my fault."

"No." Lucy said firmly to her father with unblinking brown eyes. "It's not your fault. You can't blame yourself."

"I can and I will." He said firmly. "Throughout my reign as King, I've been far too lax on magic users throughout this kingdom. I've allowed them to hide in the far reaches of Fiore, thinking that they wouldn't be able to harm anyone, but I was sorely mistaken and now Layla is inflicted with their disease."

Lucy dipped her head, unsure of how to comfort her father, knowing how much he must be hurting. Official Fiore law stated that magic was illegal. All known magic users were executed without question as practicing magic was notorious for being extremely dangerous.

The entire situation began hundreds of years ago when magic was prominent throughout the land. Wizards were known to run free and existed in guilds, groupings of wizards that dotted the landscape of Fiore that served as a place where people could hire wizards to do tasks they could not accomplish on their own. Everything was peaceful and calm, but then a war erupted throughout the land, pitting wizard's guild and wizard's guild, causing massive destruction in its wake. Many lives were lost and Fiore was nearly brought to its ruin before a great and wise king rose up to take control of the country. He banned magic and it had been illegal ever since.

The world was better off without magic, Lucy knew that for certain. Magic was a volatile and dangerous entity that no one could ever fully understand. It only caused destruction and death and her country was better off without it.

She especially felt that way now. Her mother was inflicted with a magic-induced disease. The doctor described the cause of the disease to be from ethernano magic particles floating through the air. When wizards use their magic, thousands and thousands of the particles are emitted and can travel far and wide. Ethernano is dangerous to those who do not possess the ability to control magic themselves. The particles affected Layla and could very well harm others too.

"All this is the fault of those who continue to use magic in spite of the law." Lucy said with conviction. "They are the ones who sent ethernano flying through the air and it was only by horrible luck that mom was affected. None of that is your fault."

"Nevertheless, I cannot allow this disease to spread throughout our country." Jude said confidently, straightening up so that he could speak with his full authority. "The main point of our council meeting last night was to not only discuss Layla, but also to set new policies regarding wizards in Fiore."

"What new policies?" Lucy asked.

"They will be hunted down and terminated for good. All of them. No longer will I allow these fiends to hide in the shadows and harm the rest of us with their selfishness. No longer will I allow them to jeopardize Fiore."

Lucy nodded once with resolute agreement. "Good."

"And… It is a policy that I hope you will continue after my time as king is over." Jude said, turning the subject to the elephant in the room. "This is just another reason why I want you to inherit my crown. You understand as well as I do why magic must be erased from this continent."

"I do understand." Lucy said, taking a deep breath to steady herself. "And I am here to tell you that my answer is yes. I will find a husband and become Queen once mother is no longer with us."

"I am pleased to hear it." Although Jude did not allow his severe countenance to break into a smile, Lucy knew that he was happy to hear her say yes.

However, the brief pleasure of her father's approval didn't last long. Giving her dad a definitive yes somehow made the whole situation more real, final. She _was_ going to be queen and she _was_ going to get married. Her mom _was_ going to die and she _was_ going to take her place.

Lucy's heart started to beat faster as this new wave of anxiety began to settle in. What if she was no good at being queen? What if she ran the kingdom into the dirt? What if she couldn't stop all the wizards out there and her nation suffered from an epidemic of the same disease that was killing her mother?

And as much as Lucy would like to say that love didn't matter to her, she still couldn't help but resent the very possible fact that she would be stuck in a permanent marriage with a man she did not love.

And then Lucy took a deep breath. She would just have to learn how to control her emotions. She needed to just bottle all of these fears and doubts up and seal them deep inside of her so that they would never return to the surface. Whenever she was feeling down or sad, her mom would always tell her to "fake it until you make it" and that was exactly what she intended to do now. Straightening her spine and pushing her shoulders back, Lucy adopted a posture fitting of a queen as she wore a face blank of any emotion. Her father smiled and nodded at her in approval.

 _Maybe I can do this after all_. Lucy thought to herself.

"Excellent. Now that you've agreed to get married, we must start searching for prospects immediately. We may have six months, but that is still precious little time to find a man fit for the throne… and for my daughter." He added with a small wink.

Lucy started to listen with interest. She was curious as to how they were going to find her a husband. It wouldn't be the worse thing in the world if her father merely picked someone he found suitable. At least then the matter would be settled and she could focus the next six months on getting to know the man that would become her husband. An arranged marriage would cause little fuss and overall be the simplest solution.

But then a horrifying though crept into her mind. What if her father wanted her to do… _that_?

"I'm sure whatever man you select for me will be fine." Lucy said hurriedly, not wanting her father to continue his train of thought. Lucy remembered very vividly the stories her mom told her about how she and Jude fell in love…

"Lucy. I'm not going to just pick a husband for you. Of course I will present you with plenty options and I must approve of the man you ultimately choose, but it's no longer the dark ages and as the future queen, you have a right to select the man you marry."

"You don't mean…" Lucy said quietly. "You don't mean that you want me to go through the Coronal Contests, do you?"

"I know that you are adverse to the idea, and I agree that the method is peculiar, but under these circumstances, I believe that it is the best way to find the right man whom you can love and properly rule Fiore with."

"I don't know about that." Lucy said, shaking her head.

That was her putting it lightly. There was no way in hell she wanted to go through _that_.

The Coronal Contests were a series of events through which every man in the kingdom (or woman in the case that it was a prince who needed to find a partner) was eligible to participate in. The participants competed against each other in separate contests of strength, intelligence, and tests of other qualities necessary to take the throne. If Lucy decided to take this route in finding her husband, then she would be expected to watch the events, mingle with the participants, and eventually decide the winner, the man that she felt would be the best king.

In theory, it sounded like a plausible idea. She would have a wide selection of men and would be able to witness first hand whether or not they were suitable. But in reality, it seemed barbaric and unpleasant. Lucy had no interest in watching a bunch of strange men fighting over her and her heart. She rather not make a huge spectacle of her situation and if she were to go through with this, her love life would be the most talked about piece of gossip in the kingdom.

"I know it doesn't seem appealing at first." Jude warned knowingly. "When your mother was put in your situation all those years ago, she wasn't too confident about it either. As a participant, I wasn't sure what to expect either. But through the Coronal Contests, we found each other and fell in love. I don't believe you should pass up on the opportunity to find the same thing for yourself. However, if you insist, I can select a worthy nobleman for you to marry. The choice is ultimately yours."

Lucy closed her eyes for a moment, thinking about what she was going to do. A large part of her was screaming to just let her father arrange a marriage for her, but something far deeper inside of her was telling her to go through with the contests. She guessed that there was still a little girl inside of her dreaming about her prince charming, dreaming of true love and a happily ever after. Could she really find that in only six months? The process worked for her parents so why shouldn't it work for her? What if she still had a chance of being happy after all?

She thought back to the conversation she had with Levy earlier today. Her best friend was under the impression that love should be her first priority. Maybe that was true. Maybe it was best for Fiore if its leaders were happy and in love…

"Alright." Lucy said finally. "I'll go through with the Coronal Contests."

"Excellent! Her father said, this time visually pleased. "I will begin arranging the opening ceremony immediately."

"Opening ceremony?" Lucy asked in curiosity.

"Yes, the opening ceremony is the traditional start of the Coronal Contests. It is a royal ball and every willing bachelor in Fiore is invited to attend."

"A royal ball… great." Lucy said softly, blissfully unaware of just what she was getting herself into.

XXX

As usual, it was dark by the time Natsu finished all of his chores. His mouth was dry, his back hurt, and all he wanted to do was satisfy his growling stomach with something to eat. Taking a deep breath, he took off his dirt-ridden boots before he walked inside the ranch house.

He tiptoed quietly into the kitchen. It was a wide spacious area with marble-topped counters and the same shiny dark wood floors that covered the whole house. He thanked the heavens as he saw that there were no candles lit and the room was empty. It was completely dark as Natsu crept over to the pantry, ready to satiate his hunger.

He opened the door to the pantry ever so slowly, worried that the door may creak and wake up his stepfamily.

Eyes glowing with delight at the endless rows of food piled up on the shelves of the pantry, Natsu quickly took a few things off of the shelves, not wanting to be greedy lest his stepmother learn about his thievery. He turned around to take his treasures upstairs to his room and-

"What do you think you're doing?" A harsh voice greeted him as he spun around to see the haunting figure of his stepmother standing two feet away from him.

"Damn." Natsu muttered in defeat, shaking off his momentary shock.

"Answer my question." The woman hissed with fury in her beady black eyes.

Eldia Eucliffe was the woman's name. She was tall and willowy with a long face that narrowed into an abnormally long jaw resembling a witch. Carrying a candle in her palm, flickering yellow light illuminated the harsh protrusions of her cheekbones and cascaded shadows across her villainous complexion.

"I worked hard and did the chores all day long." Natsu said harshly, a fire of defiance raging in his eyes. He was tired, irritated and hungry and did not want to deal with this right now. "I deserve a decent meal."

"Hardly." Eldia replied, venom lacing her cutting tone. "Sting told me of your transgression. You punched him in the face. How _dare_ a piece of worthless cum like yourself lay a finger on my flawless boy? You will be punished for this. There will be no dinner for you for a week."

"I can't work if I can't eat." Natsu spat in frustration.

"Are you refusing to do your share of the work around this house?" She said, raising her voice into a loud sneer.

"My share of the work?!" Natsu reacted with a raised tone of his own, outraged by her claim. "Wendy and I do all the damn work while you and your pretty boy sons sit around getting fatter off of my father's hard work!"

Eldia slapped him without a moment's hesitation. For the second time that day, Natsu's face stung with pain as he was helpless to do anything about it. His stepmother's eyes were cold and unflinching.

"Your father would be ashamed of the little rat you have become. He was always too soft with raising you children."

"I swear if you say another word about my father, I'll-" Natsu began to say before he stopped himself midsentence.

"Or you'll what?" Eldia said with a knowing smile. "Run away? Go ahead. You and I both know that you won't last a day on your own."

With one last frustrated growl, Natsu brushed past his stepmother, dropped all his stolen food on the counter and left the dark and shadowy kitchen.

Stomach blazing with anger, he climbed up the stairs to the second story of the house. From there he weaved through the narrow hallways to a small closet in the back of the house were there was one more staircase inside, leading to the only room on the third story of the house.

The second stair case was shabby and made out of a poorly constructed wood that wobbled when any weight was put on it. Nevertheless, Natsu continued up it in a hurry to the small door at the top. He had to carefully duck his head in order to get through the threshold and into the tiny room that resided beyond it.

"Natsu!" A much gentler and sweet voice greeted him when he entered. "You're back!"

"Hey, Wendy." He replied, forcing a smile to his lips that ended up looking more like a grimace than a grin.

He and Wendy shared the shabby closet-sized room they called a loft. It was a square room with walls that were probably about six or seven feet long. The walls and floors consisted of the same dark, aging wood that probably had mounds of mold growing behind them and there were two sleeping places lining the walls that could barely pass as a pair of cots, let alone beds. Despite its shortcomings, the room was made cozy by the piles of blankets and pillows resting on the cots along with the light rays of moonlight that streamed through the singular tiny window situated high on the far wall.

It wasn't much, but this was the only place left on the farm that felt like home.

"You seem upset. Is something wrong?" Wendy asked, concern evident on her face. Natsu walked over a couple steps to sit on her bed next to her. The makeshift mattress squeaked beneath his weight.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it, squirt." He said, mimicking his usual jovial tone, forcing a much more realistic smile onto his face than his first attempt.

"Natsu, how many time do I have to tell you? I don't like it when you call me 'squirt' and I know when you are upset. You aren't very good at hiding it, you know."

"I know." Natsu sighed, dropped the pretenses. Sometimes his little sister could see right through him as if he were made of glass.

"What happened to your face?!" Wendy asked suddenly. "Your cheek is all red and there is a giant bruise on your jaw!"

"Oh, yeah. That's just the usual family love." Natsu replied, reaching his hand up to feel that his face was all swollen and puffy. It still stung a little, but overall wasn't bad at all.

"Why can't you learn to just keep quiet and do as you're told?" The girl pleaded with him, grabbing his arm in desperation.

"Sting and Rogue were threatening Happy." He said, shaking his head. "I couldn't just stand back and watch. I may or may not have punched Sting in the face."

"You what?!"

"Yeah, yeah I know." Natsu smiled. "It still felt pretty good, though."

Wendy slapped his arm, although between the puny size of her hands and her lack of commitment, it didn't hurt at all.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"You're so stupid sometimes. It's like you're asking for a fight. A fight that you can't win." She said, her face growing serious.

"But I can win." Natsu said stubbornly, feeling that familiar sense of frustration creep back in. "I'm stronger than Sting and Rogue combined."

"I know." She said softly. "And that's why you can't keep picking fights with them. If you do then they are bound to find out."

"I'm pretty sure our _stepmother_ knows about us, anyway." Natsu said shaking his head. "I was down there trying to nab some food before she caught me. Don't get mad, but I was arguing with her a little bit and she said something like 'you and I both know you wouldn't last a day on your own'."

"What?" Wendy said with genuine fear in her eyes as her round face went pale. "Do you really think she knows?"

"It's possible." Natsu shrugged. "Igneel trusted her. He might have told her the truth."

"Do you think she'll turn us in?"

"Nah, if she wanted that then she probably would have done it already. She wants us here to do her dirty work for free so that she can spend all of dad's money on Sting's pantyhose and those ridiculous dresses she likes to buy."

Despite his assurance, Wendy was still shivering and cowering in fear, making her tiny body seem even smaller. Natsu put on a soft smile and wrapped a comforting arm around his little sister, tucking her head into his chest.

"Don't worry about it, squirt. I'll always be here to protect you." He told her warmly.

"Thanks, Natsu." She whispered, tears wetting his dirty shirt. The silence that fell over the siblings lasted only for a few moments until it was interrupted by a growling stomach. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't Natsu who made the noise, but Wendy. The older brother laughed.

"You hungry?" He teased.

"Eldia was in a bad mood, so she didn't let me eat either." Wendy admitted sheepishly, clutching her stomach in embarrassment.

"Well, no need to worry, because your big brother always has a trick up his sleeve!" Natsu announced as he pulled something out of his pocket. Wendy gasped in joy as she saw that the object was a piece of bread with a perfectly golden crust covering an inside of soft, chewy bread. "Here, take it." Natsu offered the food out for her, ignoring the crushing pain in his own stomach.

"How about we share it?" Wendy asked. "And don't even try to argue because I'm not taking no for an answer.

"Fine." Natsu grinned as he broke the chunk of bread in half, offering one piece to his sister. "You'll hear no complaints from me."

The pair happily munched on the bread until it was all gone. The small portion fell short of satisfying their stomachs, but it was more than enough to get them through the night.

"Thanks, Natsu." Wendy said, swallowing the last of her meal. "I know that you'll always look out for me."

"Of course." He replied and then adopted a sneaky grin. "And besides. If the Royal Army ever does find us, I'll just burn then to a crisp. We _are_ wizards after all."

"Yeah." Wendy said with a content smile on her face as she felt her eyes begin to droop under the influence of sleep. "Yeah, we are."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Alright so I spent a lot of this chapter setting stuff up too, but I swear Lucy and Natsu are going to finally meet in the next update and from there it's going to get really interesting. You just have to keep reading!**

 **Oh and I have my reasons for making Natsu's stepmother an OC. You'll find out why sooner or later.**

 **Until next time!**


	3. Chapter 3: You Don't Know What she Wants

Chapter 3

You Don't Know What she Wants

Fresh from a visit with her mother, Lucy was beginning to feel more confident about her recent decision. The ailing Queen of Fiore had been visibly pleased by the knowledge that her daughter would take her place after she passed and was more animated than she had been in quite some time. Gesticulating with a surprising vigor in her hands, she told Lucy a little about her own experience with the Coronal Contests, even going as far as to say that it was one of the best times of her life. The young princess was still slightly skeptical, but seeing that joy on her mom's face was more than enough to reassure herself that she was doing the right thing.

Of course, that moment of reassurance faded away as quickly as it had come when Lucy walked through the main doors of the Grand Hall of the castle and saw the chaos swirling around her.

People were briskly pacing back and forth around the hall, carrying papers, floorplans and a variety of messages. Some held measuring sticks while others had bottles of soap and polish as they scrubbed furiously against the rosy marble floor, buffing it to shiny perfection. Furniture was being moved, paintings on the walls were being meticulously examined and then replaced by even more luxurious masterpieces, and even the grand chandelier hanging from the 50 foot-tall ceiling was receiving new candles from a man standing on top a very wobbly looking ladder.

A few passing servants would bow upon seeing her presence before scurrying away, but for the most part, Lucy's entrance went unnoticed as everyone in the room was so utterly absorbed with their individual tasks.

The Grand Hall was the largest room in the castle and was where all the largest balls and events where held. Opulent and spacious, the hall represented the finest luxurious Fiore had to offer and perhaps most importantly, it was going to be the location for the Ball celebrating the beginning of the Coronal Contests in just a few days. Lucy thought that was plenty of time to put a dance together, but judging from the tizzy everyone was in, she was clearly mistaken.

Emerging from the chaos and standing out with collected serenity, a tall woman with startling red hair strode straight towards Lucy. The woman was clearly all business with her locks tied back into a high pony tail and a simple blue dress that brought out the oceany hue of her eyes. Even though Lucy was the princess, she couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated by this woman's professional ambiance and effortless beauty.

"Greetings, your highness. If I may introduce myself, I am Erza Scarlett and I will be your Coronal Contests Coordinator." She said with a bow, speaking in a hurried tone ripe with zealous fervor.

 _That's a lot of C's…_ Lucy said to herself, a bit taken aback by this woman's enthusiasm.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." She said instead politely. "Thank you in advance for your services."

Lucy gestured to a nearby table and sat down across from her new acquaintance. Immediately, the redhead pulled a massive binder out of her bag and plopped it down loudly on the table with a resounding _thump_. Mouth gaping open at the sheer size of the binder, Lucy estimated that it was five inches thick and filled to the brim with papers, pictures and other information that she couldn't phantom was necessary for the upcoming events.

"Let's get right to business, shall we?" She said brusquely with an eager smile, not noticing Lucy's reluctance. "First of all, I am here to assist you throughout the Contests so that all you need to focus on is finding the right husband. My job description includes organizing events, overseeing contestants, and overall to keep the Contests running smoothly. That being said, my primary service is to you, so if there is anything extra you need, don't hesitate to ask because I am equipped and ready to help you with any problem you may have, including but not limited to anxiety, contestant management, amending contests, adding or negating rules, and general guidelines. Any questions so far?"

Lucy wasn't sure what to say. Erza had said everything so fast and the blonde honestly didn't think that this would be made into such a big deal…

"That's a big binder." She finally ended up saying, not removing her eyes from the overflowing notebook.

"Indeed. It's filled to the brim with everything I need and more to make the Contests the best experience of your life. I have it all: dress designs, rule manuals, contest descriptions and even a detailed catalog on specific food items to include on dining menus. I can assure you that I have accounted for every possible necessity."

"I see…" She replied. "That's wonderful. You are very skilled at your job, Erza."

"Thank you, your highness, and furthermore-"

"Lucy." She corrected the coordinator. "If we are going to be working together, I'd like for you to call me Lucy."

"As you wish." She replied, dipping her head. "Now, onto the first matter we must discuss. As you can see, I've already begun to prepare the Main Hall for the first Ball and will continue to do so unless you have any specific request regarding the theme or decoration of the hall?"

"I trust you judgement."

"Very good." Erza flipped open to a page in her binder and scribbled something down furiously, before moving on to the next item of discussion. "As you know, at the end of the upcoming Ball, you will select a certain number of gentlemen to proceed to the official contest portion of the Coronal Events, commonly dubbed "Stage Two". Historically, anywhere from five to fifty men are selected at the Ball, although the exact number will be decided by you."

"Okay… wait you mean I have to decide the number right now?" Lucy asked, suddenly very startled.

"Yes." Erza nodded. "It is common curtesy to announce the number that will be selected at the beginning of the night so that the men will know their odds and therefore act accordingly."

Lucy closed her eyes to think for a moment, contemplating the answer she would have to give. She definitely didn't want too many men to juggle throughout the contests, but at the same time she wouldn't want to narrow down her selection to quickly… What if she rejected the perfect man on the first night simply because there weren't enough available slots? It was crazy how anxious she was getting over this simple question. How was she going to handle larger decisions if she couldn't even make up her mind about this?

"Ten." Lucy answered finally, spitting out the number rather than actually deciding on it.

"Very well." Erza nodded and scribbled the new information down onto one of her many sheets of paper. The redhead flipped another page over and went on to the next area of interest. Lucy inwardly sighed as she realized just how long this meeting was going to take.

XXX

It was getting late in the afternoon by the time Erza finished hammering her with questions about the Opening Ceremony Ball. Lucy was mentally exhausted and she truly did not feel like attending the history lesson she had scheduled with one of her tutors in half an hour. He muscles were tight with stress and her head was overloaded with anticipation.

Acting off a whim, Lucy changed direction and headed downstairs and out of the Castle onto the sweeping grounds that surrounded it. She was going through the Coronal Contests. That was definitely a good excuse to suspend a good portion of her other responsibilities. Striding confidently to the Royal Stables, she ordered one of the workers there to saddle a horse for her. Furthermore, she grabbed a wide brimmed hat to conceal her hair and face from any onlookers who may wonder what the Princess of Fiore was doing on her own.

She made up her mind; she was going for a ride and was just going to let the wind take her wherever she wanted to go. If the rest of her life was going to be dictated by the needs of others, then she was going to enjoy what little bit of freedom she had left.

XXX

One of the things that Natsu loved most about his occasional trips into Oakdale Town was the cornucopia of smells, sights, and sounds that surrounded him like an extravagant feast of sensation. He loved hearing the chatter of children running through the cobblestone streets as well as the more serious discussions held among consumers bargaining for better prices at the vendors in the center of town. His eyes were delighted by the variety of colors dancing around him- brightly colored dresses, rich browns of wooden storefronts and the clear sky that he swore was bluer here than it was back on the farm. Most enjoyable however was the symphony of smells that engulfed him such as the perfume of freshly baked breads drifting out of a small corner bakery, meats cooking over slow roasting fires, and the fragrant array of seasonal fruits displayed in the farmer's market.

He had just dropped off his final supply of pumpkins from the most recent harvest. For every new crop of fruit, he would drag several wagon loads of the harvest to town and sell them to the market for a reasonable price. On the way back he would use the money his stepmother gave him to buy different groceries for household meals as well as other necessities that his "family" demanded. She made sure to only allow him the exact amount of money necessary to buy everything on the list and not one item more. Natsu was still waiting for the day that she overestimated and he would be able to buy a trinket or delicacy for Wendy. He felt slightly guilty that his baby sister was stuck doing her usual household chores at home, but it couldn't be helped. She was too young to make the trips into town and besides, it was his job to bring the harvests to the market.

There were two main parts of Oakdale Town. Front and center of the town featured a buzzing and colorful epicenter of commerce that featured a fresh farmer's market, a collection of diverse stores, and trading posts all of which contributed to the lively economy of the place. However, on the edges of the town were less consumer-friendly residencies that consisted of worn down houses grouped in cramped neighborhoods that featured muddy potholes and dark alleys that you wouldn't want to be caught in alone come sundown.

Not ever having the need to venture into those parts of town, Natsu stayed within the commerce center to go about his business. Parking his wagon beside the road that led to town, he began walking back to the marketplace where he would become a buyer and not just a seller.

A paper flapping about in the wind from where it was nailed to a lamp post caught the boy's eye.

 _Come to the Opening Ceremony Ball of the Coronal Contests as Princess Lucy Heartfilia begins her search for her husband, the next King of Fiore._ It read in large fancy calligraphy. _All men between the ages of 16 and 30 are eligible and invited._

That made Natsu chuckle a little bit. He couldn't imagine a scenario where hundreds of guys were fighting over marrying the same girl. To top it off, the winner would become King. That was bound to be a dirty fight and Natsu wondered what self-respecting guy would go through it.

It wasn't until he tore his eyes away from the advertisement that Natsu spotted something almost as unusual out of the corner of his eye.

In an alley way leading to the bad parts of town, a group of three rowdy and rough-looking men were standing around a much smaller girl who was wearing an expensive-looking dress. The girl wore a cloak over her gown and had tucked her hair beneath a wide brimmed hat that covered most of her face when she looked down. Her delicacy was sharply contrasted by the dirty and unreasonably smelly piles of muscle that were cornering her against the wall of the alley where nobody would notice. Of course Natsu was unusual in the fact that his senses were greater than an ordinary man's.

"Come on, lady, I happen to know a great tavern downtown. Don't you want to come with us and have a little drink?" The largest of the three men leaned towards her with a devilish smirk that showed off a yellowed set of crooked teeth. His bald head was covered by a white bandanna that had seen so many stains and sun that it was the same color as his teeth.

"Thank you for the offer, mister, but once again I must decline." She replied, speaking with an odd authority in her voice, attempting to stay polite and calm despite the fear Natsu smelled radiating off her skin.

"Look, boys, she's playing hard to get." The bandanna guy replied, prompting his two beefy friends to chuckle. One of them had dark skin that helped him blend into the shadows while the other sported a shock of goofy blonde hair that just seemed strange and out of place on top his mammoth body. "I like that."

"I'll be going now." The young woman said firmly, pulling her cloak tighter around he shoulders. She tried to push her way through the wall of muscle that was surrounding her, but it was to no avail. One of the men merely stepped in front of her to block her getaway.

"Not so fast, Missy. The fun is only just getting started." Yellow-haired brute grunted at her, causing the girl to flinch.

Natsu resisted the urge to roll his eyes, resenting the fact that he would probably have to jump in and save her from the thugs. This chick was clearly not from around these parts. Not only were her clothes expensive and pristine, but any woman from Oakdale would to stick to the main roads and avoid all the unwanted men. And even if a woman from around these parts did get caught in a precarious situation with a group of thugs, she would know how to handle herself. At this time of day (late afternoon) all it took to get rid of perverts like that was a few curse words and a simple threat to let them know you aren't to be messed with. Sometimes if they were extra creepy it would take a scream or solid kick, but that was only in rare cases. He had gone through all this with Wendy if she ever ended up in town by herself, but this girl clearly never had those lessons. She was undoubtedly some snotty rich noble girl who wanted to be adventurous by wondering into town. He never understood wealthy people and their constant dissatisfaction with their perfect lives….

Just as Natsu mustered up the motivation to walk over and intervene, the rich girl started complaining again in that pompous voice of hers.

"Don't you dare touch me!" She shrilled as one of the men reached out to grab her wrist. The men barely even noticed her protests as she continued to speak in a soft tone. "I'll have you know that I am not someone you should mess with. I happen to be-"

"Yo!" Natsu called out with a casual hand raised in greeting. The gang looked over at him with a mixture of surprise, irritation and confusion. Natsu ignored that. "Yeah, I'm talking to you guys. How about you leave the girl alone? She's clearly not into you."

The woman with the hat breathed a huge sigh of relief as she relaxed her features upon her apparent rescue. She looked at the pink haired boy as if he were her knight in shining armor. Natsu resented that.

"Oh thank you so much! These men just assaulted me and-"

"How about you let me do the talking?" Natsu cut her off, not caring to do the whole gratitude thing.

"And what the hell does this got to do with you, pinky?" Bandanna-head grunted, turning away from the girl to size up the nuisance face on.

"Nothing at all, I suppose." Natsu shrugged. "I'm just trying to do you a favor, pal. Look at the girl's clothes. She's a noble. There's no way this will end well for you."

"I'll take my chances." The man answered with a positively disgusted grin on his face. "This one's worth the risk."

Natsu let out a sigh. This was going to be more difficult than he thought. He was never good with verbal negotiations and always preferred to use his fists while settling disputes, but he didn't want to cause a scene and risk word getting back to his stepmother…

"Come on, just leave her alone. I don't have time for this." He said instead.

"I think you're the one who needs to scram, pest."

"I'd love to, but not before you take your greasy fingers off the girl." Natsu replied shaking his head with his arms crossed.

"Hey boss I think he just insulted you!" The stereotypically accurate blonde goofball declared with a rare stroke of sudden realization.

"I think he did." The leader grunted cracking his knuckles. "And that means we need to teach this punk some manners."

"Don't you usually need know a little bit about the subject matter in order to teach it?" Natsu said with a sly grin and glistening eyes, feeling his skin start to tingle in anticipation. He wasn't about to go around starting fights, but he wasn't going to say no when one came to him either. It had been far too long since he used his muscles for something other than farm work.

The three men scowled in anger, wordlessly deciding to make their movie. Bandanna-head moved first, swinging an angry fist at Natsu's head, but the boy was able to dodge it easily with a swift sidestep before lashing out an elbow that landed square on the man's back, sending him flying forward to the dirt. The next challenger, the giant blonde with heaps of muscles bulking up his arms, took a less refined approach, throwing his entire body at the pink haired boy in a full force tackle. Not able to stifle his grin, Natsu jumped up into the air and landed neatly on the big brute's shoulders. Before the big guy could figure out what was going on, Natsu leaped off his perch to land in front of the third man, the quieter one with the dark skin, who at least adopted a semi-acceptable fighting position with his hands held out in front of him in tight fists.

The mere farm boy was the first to lash out against the larger man, throwing an easy straightforward punch just to see if his opponent was capable of blocking it. The man managed to protect himself by guarding his face with his forearms locked in a tight defensive "X", but was clearly shaken by the blow. Giving the man time to retaliate, Natsu waited for the counterattack and was slightly disappointed by how slowly the man moved. To Natsu it looked as if the oncoming fist was moving in slow motion, giving him days to calculate his next move. Realizing that this wasn't going to be as good of a fight as he hoped, he decided to not drag things out any longer than necessary and chose to stop the man's relatively heavy punch with a nimble hand, stopping all momentum and catching the fist in his palm. The man looked at the boy in disbelief. Natsu just responded with a flicker of a smile as he shrugged, clasping the man's forearm arm with his other hand. Now with a firm grip, Natsu spun the man around twice in a circle to gain some speed and then released, flinging the man with startling speed at his bumbling blonde comrade so that he crashed into him, sending both crashing to the ground next to their leader.

"Like I said." Natsu spoke in an even voice, not having broken a sweat. "There's no way this was ever going to work out well for you."

"Let's go, men." The boss spoke in an oddly high pitched voice, trying to mask his pain with a forced authoritative tone that came out all wrong. "This guy ain't worth our time."

"Yeah." The other two huffed as they struggled to stand before limping away as fast as they could manage, leaning the girl and the boy alone in the alley.

Natsu shook his head. The sad thing was that was the best action he'd gotten in weeks.

"That was incredible!" The feminine voice reminded him that the blonde chick was still there. He glanced at her over his shoulder and saw that she had her hands clasped over her chest, face gushing with gratitude. "Thank you so much! I've never seen anything like that out of a civilian."

"Yeah." Natsu muttered not at all liking the way she said 'civilian' as he started to walk away. "Whatever, just be a little more careful next time."

"Wait you can't go yet!" The girl called out, picking up the heavy skirts of her dress to rush over to his side, grabbing his arm with her delicate hands. "I haven't the chance to properly thank you."

"I think I've been thanked enough, princess." Natsu said as he stiffened immediately at the contact and to his surprise, the girl loosened her grip immediately at his words. For the first time he saw her large brown eyes beneath the brim of her hat. They flew wide with shock.

"You think I'm the princess?" She stuttered out nervously.

"What?" Natsu asked, shaking his head. "No- it's a figure of speech. You're rich so I called you princess, what's the big deal?"

"Oh right, I'm sorry." She laughed as her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment. "Of course I know that-"

"Bye." Natsu said, turning around to walk away once more.

"Are you going to the ball?" The girl blurted out at him before he could get out of range. Natsu stopped in his tracks and sighed. What was up with this chick? Most nobles would just take one glance at him, write him off as scum and ignore him without a second thought.

"You mean that party the princess is throwing to find a husband?" He scoffed. "No I'm definitely not interested."

If Natsu didn't still have his back turned to the blonde girl, he would have seen her face fall a little in disappointment.

"Why not?" She asked. "I mean, every eligible bachelor in the country is allowed to attend… It couldn't hurt to try."

Natsu laughed harshly and the turned around to look at her, seeing all the oblivious naivety and blissful ignorance in her expression. Did she really think that stupid dance would be anything but a waste of time for him?

"Even if I did somehow manage to get away from my sadistic stepmother and find something halfway decent to wear, there's not a chance in hell a princess would go for someone like me."

"You don't know that. Maybe she would."

"And maybe she would want one of the thousand other princes and nobleman in this world. You know, the ones with the shiny armor, perfect hair and white horses? I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess she's going to go for a guy like that."

"You don't know what she wants." The girl insisted, shaking her head. "You don't even know her. She could be really kind and not care about things like that."

"You're right about one thing. I have no idea what she wants because I have no idea what you nobles think." Natsu said, throwing his hands up in the air in defeat, growing tired of this conversation. "All I do know is that our worlds don't belong together, so why don't you go back to where ever it is you came from and leave me the hell alone?"

The girl flinched at his harsh, unfiltered words. She probably had never been spoken to like that before and so she was hurt. However, instead of walking away or looking down, she kept those sparkly doe eyes firmly connected to Natsu's glare in a gaze that fell somewhere between angry and sympathetic. It was strange.

"Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you-" Natsu started to say, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to figure out a way to mend the situation. Too bad he was _much_ better at breaking things than putting them back together.

"You didn't." She snapped. "You have an opinion that I don't agree with. It doesn't really matter, I just want the opportunity to properly thank you for helping me."

"You _have_ thanked me!" Natsu exclaimed as he pushed his bangs back out of his eyes in frustration.

"Not properly." She replied, shaking her head. "You said before that you would have nothing to wear to the ball. I would like to thank you by buying you a suit so that you may attend."

He looked at her in sheer disbelief. His smiled was almost sadistic as he lost all control over his emotions.

"You know what? I'm just going to say it outright, because you clearly aren't taking any hints." He spat, taking a step towards the girl in the vain hope that she would finally understand. "I don't like nobility and I don't want to be one of them. I'm not entering that ridiculous contest and I'm not trying to marry a spoiled princess. There is no way in hell I'm going to that Ball, so you can stop trying to convince me."

Natsu was breathing hard as he finished his rant, still looking at the shorter girl that stood in front of him. He didn't understand completely why he was getting so worked up over this, but he did know that he hated the wealthy.

He had been well off when his father was still around, but ever since he left and his stepmother tuned him into a glorified slave, he might as well be considered among the lowest social class there was. He had lived that way for eleven years now and he knew what it was like to starve. He knew what it was like to work his ass off all day only to return to a piece of crap bedroom in an uninsulated attic. He knew what it was like to watch his little sister suffer beneath the hardship and not be able to do anything about it.

That was why he hated looking at nobles who had their lives all figured out as they slept in until noon, gorged themselves on gluttonous feasts, and allowed countless servants to do all their dirty work.

He had figured out a long time ago that that life wasn't fair and had grown to accept that some lives were simply better than others, but that didn't mean he should have to deal with a naïve rich girl who probably owned enough shoes to fill up the wagon he drug around to carry fruit that he could never eat.

"I feel sorry for you." The girl said simply and coldly.

"Not all of us can be rich."

"No. That's not what I meant. I feel sorry for you because you are so consumed by bitterness and hatred that you don't even realize when someone is being nice to you." She said as Natsu narrowed his eyes, surprised by her statement. She continued with her chin raised in the air. "I know this hard for you to believe, but being rich doesn't mean life is perfect. _My life_ isn't perfect. But that doesn't mean I have the excuse to be rude. I'm offering to buy you the suit because my mother always taught me to be generous and kind. I'm aware that our worlds are different, but I was not under the impression that they diverged so far as to devalue common integrity."

Natsu didn't respond for a while, studying the girl with a quizzing stare. She definitely wasn't like most nobles. She smelt like them and spoke like them, but he didn't miss out on the hint of pain that tinted her deceivingly steady voice. It was the same tremor he would often hear out of himself.

Regardless, he couldn't deny that she was right. He was being a bitter ass and she did nothing to deserve the brunt of his anger and frustration. He let out a deep sigh, realizing just how much he screwed up.

"Sorry." He mumbled. "I guess I can be an idiot sometimes. I'll let you buy me the suit."

"Does this mean you are going to attend the ball?" She asked, raising an eyebrow, pleased that he was coming around.

"It means I'll consider it." He shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Good." She replied, gesturing for him to follow her as she led the way to the more expensive boutiques.

"I never got your name." Natsu said, figuring that he should know what to call her. The pause before she answered was a moment to long before she finally spoke.

"I'm Marla."

"Natsu." He huffed, sighing as he walked behind her with his hands shoved in his pockets. "Natsu Dragneel."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Natsu." She said with a cheery smile.

 _Wish I could say the same._ He mumbled inside his head, this time managing to keep his thoughts to himself.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hey there. Sorry for the longer than usual wait. I've been crazy busy and the scary thing is that my schedule is only going to get even more crowded in the upcoming weeks. Despite having trouble finding the time to work on this story, I still enjoy writing it and will continue to update as often as I can. I wanted so badly to get this chapter posted that I completely lost track of time earlier today and was late for my volleyball practice because I was concentrated on writing (idk I get in a zone sometimes and everything around me just sizzles away). Anyway that wasn't one of my finer moments, but the point is that I just really want to keep making new chapters for anyone out there who might want to read them.**

 **That being said, I hope you loved the chapter and are looking forward to what's next. Let me know in the reviews if my tardiness to practice was worth it!**


	4. Chapter 4: And so it Begins

Chapter 4

And so it Begins

By the time Natsu returned to the farm, night had fallen and his muscles were sore. Finally able to park the fruit wagon after miles and miles of dragging it around everywhere, he grabbed the groceries he picked up at the market and take them inside.

Without a doubt, his trip into town had been far more interesting than usual. That girl- Marla- was definitely one of the weirdest people he'd ever met. She was wealthy and obviously from a high ranking family, but she never did explain what she was doing by herself in the lowly Oakdale town nor did it make any sense to Natsu why she insisted on buying him a suit so that he may attend that Ball thing.

But perhaps the strangest thing of all was that Natsu was actually _considering_ going. It was ridiculous right? He grew up on a farm; he didn't belong in that world of luxury and indulgence. Grant it, he didn't really feel like he belonged on the farm either, but still, going inside the Fiore Castle when the King himself had a personal vendetta against wizards was under no circumstances a good idea. The reason he and Wendy stayed with their stepfamily was for the seclusion living on a farm in the wilderness could bring. One tiny slip up in the public world and he would be arrested and most likely executed for practicing magic.

And he had a feeling the princess wouldn't be too pleased if he upstaged her shindig by getting his head chopped off.

Nevertheless he kept the suit Marla had bought him secured firmly in the bag he had slung over his shoulder.

Normally when he came back inside the ranch house from being out all day, Natsu would just keep his head low and hurry up to his room, but this time, Natsu could help but stop and stare in disbelief at the scene that was taking place in the parlor.

Sting and Rogue were standing on… pedestals in the middle of the living area and hand their arms out straight at 90 degree angles from their bodies. Additionally there was a small team of men and woman clamoring around them, holding up tape measurers and pins to the most ridiculous get ups he'd ever seen. Both were wearing these puffy pants that were tucked into tall boots rising up to their knees. Sting's pants were pure white and matched with brown boots while Rogue was decked up in his typical black on black combo. The most hilarious part of their outfits, however, were the ruffled sleeves and broad shoulder pads that adorned their blouses.

From her seat on the sofa, his stepmother took her calculating gaze off her two precious sons to rest it on her much less liked child. Her icy glare attempted to slice at Natsu's soul, but the pink haired boy was in far too good a mood to let her ruin his amusement.

"Sweet getup." Natsu commented slyly to his stepbrothers as he gritted his teeth to prevent his inner laughter from escaping to the surface.

"Like you're one to talk. I've never see you wear anything but that wretched shirt you dirty up every day." Sting was quick to shoot back as a seamstress continued to adjust the ruffles on his shirt sleeve so that they wouldn't droop past his fingers.

"That's cause I don't spend my free time playing dress up." Natsu replied through narrowed eyes.

It was obvious what was going on here. Sting and Rogue must be planning on entering the Coronal Contests and going to that Ball. He should have known they'd be the first to sign up.

"Sting and Rogue are attending the Opening Ceremony Ball at Fiore Castle." Eldia said fondly, her voice warming as much as it could after coming from her frozen heart. "One of my dear boys are going to marry the princess and become King of Fiore."

"Good luck with that." Natsu rolled his eyes and walked away to begin putting away all the groceries in their respective cabinets.

"You jealous, pinky?" Sting called out, taunting him with superior blue eyes.

"Not in the slightest." Natsu mumbled to himself, not speaking loudly enough for anyone to hear him.

His momentary good mood quickly faded away as he began to contemplate what it would be like if Sting or Rogue did end up marrying the princess. He refused to believe that anyone- even royalty- would be stupid enough to marry the likes of them, but anything was possible. Sting could be charming when he wanted to and it would be impossible for Rogue to get on the princess's bad side since he hardly ever talked. He didn't mind the idea of them marrying a snotty princess (they could have her for all he cared), but the more annoying notion was the thought of either of them becoming _King_. Yes, they would have the power to make his life even more miserable than before, but in addition to that, their coronation would give even more satisfaction to his greedy power-hungry stepmom. Worse than that, having his stepmother in that position of power could potentially blow his cover and leave him and Wendy without protection from the Royal Magic Patrols that ride around Fiore searching for wizards every day.

 _I guess I'll just have to bank on the fact that Sting and Rogue are dicks._ He reasoned with himself, not seeing the point of worrying too much about it. There was no way anyone would willing choose to get Eldia as a mother-in-law.

Finishing his task while the brothers were still getting sized for their outfits, Natsu snuck upstairs before he brought too much more attention to himself. Hearing a soft scrubbing noise coming from an upstairs bathroom, Natsu ducked inside it.

"Hey Wendy!" Natsu said with a broad grin, seeing his sister on her knees, scrubbing at the tile floors with a sudsy bright yellow sponge.

"You're back." She returned his smile with a close eyed grin of her own, pausing her cleaning for the moment. "How was the trip to Oakdale?"

"Interesting. I met this weird girl-"

"You met a girl?!" Wendy interrupted him, her eyes bright and her voice hopeful. Natsu laughed.

"Not like that." He shook his head in good humor. "She was from a rich family and was getting harassed by a group of punks so I helped her out. The weird thing though was that she bought me a suit as a thank you."

"Really? That is sort of- oh wait! Is the suit for the Ball? Are you going to the Ball, Natsu? Oh I wish I could go, but the open invitation only works for boys."

"Slow down, squirt." He replied with his hands help up defensively. "I didn't say anything about actually going to the Ball. It seems stupid if you ask me."

"It's not stupid, it's romantic!" Wendy insisted, getting this dreamy glazed over look in her eyes. "For the princess it's the beginning of her journey to find true love. Just like in the Fairy Tales! And I've heard Princess Lucy Heartfilia is around your age, Natsu. Maybe you two are destined to be together! You could become King and move us to the castle and we'd all live happily ever-"

"Alright, Wendy, you've officially lost it. All this princess is doing is looking for the next King. It's all political and fake. Love's got nothing to do with it and don't even get me started on what I think about _destiny_."

"You don't believe in destiny?" She asked, much more subdued that before, her voice soft and innocent. Natsu tilted his head in confusion before answering.

"No, of course I don't. It's not real." He tried to keep his voice gentle, but it didn't stop Wendy from disliking his answer. She frowned and looked up at him with a defiance in her eyes that he wasn't accustomed to seeing.

"Yes it is. I believe in destiny and I don't care what you say. There is no way that we are going to live the rest of our lives like this. There has to be a better future."

That caused Natsu's lips to twitch up in a half-smile. He remembered when he had that much optimism about the world, but time had a knack at scraping it away until all you were left with was reality. And the worst part about reality is that it lasts forever.

He wasn't about to burst Wendy's bubble though. He didn't want her to lose that blind faith kids always seemed to have. If believing in a great destiny in the future was what got her through the day, then he wasn't going to argue about it with her.

"Maybe you're right." He ended up saying as he knelt down on the tile floor as well, gesturing for Wendy to hand him the sponge. She relaxed her shoulders in a grateful sigh and passed it on to him, letting her brother finish her final chore for the day.

"Thanks, Natsu."

"No problem." He replied and then flashed her a knowing wink. "After all, this isn't going to last forever, right?"

"Right." She nodded vigorously. "And so does that mean you are going to attend the Ball? Destiny doesn't come to those who wait, you know."

"When did you get so smart?" He laughed as he rubbed away a particularly stubborn fleck of dirt on the floor.

"I'm not as young as you think." She told him. "And I'm not going to let you avoid the question either."

Although her tone was lighthearted, when Natsu looked up from his work he could see the desperation and pleading in the large brown orbs of his sister. They held all her dreams of seeing a Fairy Tale unfold in real life and all the faith that they would come true.

She really did have the sort of eyes that were impossible to say no to.

"Fine." Natsu sighed in defeat. "I'll go to the stupid Ball. I doubt Eldia will let me, though."

"I have an idea about that." Wendy said mischievously. "After all it was you who taught me to think outside the box."

"What sort of monster have I created?" He joked.

"The kind that's going to make sure you become the next King of Fiore." She responding promptly, looking happier than she had been in a very long time.

And to Natsu, that was more than enough to justify entering the Coronal Contests.

XXX

Lucy's heart hammered with a nervous excitement. Tonight was the Opening Ceremony Ball of the Coronal Contests.

"You look beautiful, Lu." Levy said warmly, reminding the blonde that her best friend was standing beside her as they examined Lucy's imagine in the long mirror that stood in the corner of her bedroom.

Lucy wanted everything to go perfectly and that included looking the part of a soon to be queen ready for marriage. She had come to terms with all the things that were going on in her life and had decided to make the most of them. If she had to be married in such a short amount of time, then she might as well do her best to find the right person who could become a fantastic King while also being somebody that she may fall in love with later on down the road.

And to do that she needed to put her best foot forward.

She was wearing a stunning red gown that hugged her chest and narrow waist before it exploded out into a full, smooth skirt that flowed to the floor. With its off-the-shoulder neckline, the dress left her collarbone exposed as the loose fitting sleeves began below her shoulders and floating down to her elbows. The entire ball gown was made from the finest Mulberry Silk in the world and was adorned with dazzling silver embellishment put together with authentic and flawless gems. Although Lucy allowed some of her bags to frame her face, she tied the rest of her hair up in an elegant up due crafted by one of her stylists.

But perhaps the part she loved most about her look tonight was her shoes. As she pulled up the hem of her dress, she revealed a pair of glass slippers, shining bright but remaining perfectly clear as they allowed everyone to see the red nail polish on her toes.

"It's all thanks to you Levy." Lucy replied softly. "You picked out a killer outfit for me."

"I did spend all of yesterday harassing the royal seamstresses to make it perfect." The blue haired girl replied with a giggle. "But the real find was those shoes! They are simply gorgeous."

"And surprisingly comfortable." Lucy commented. Although the shoes were stiff and obviously made of glass, they fit perfectly to her foot, hugging every curve and holding her feet at the perfect angle.

"That is surprising."

"IT'S RUINED! Everything is ruined!" A high pitched shrill cut through the nice moment between friends as a rapid knock was heard banging against the door to Lucy's bedroom.

"Is that Erza?" Lucy asked quietly to her lady-in-waiting, who promptly gave an uneasy shrug. Lucy sighed and raised her voice higher. "Come in."

Sure enough, it was Erza who burst through the door, her hair radiating the same brilliant red that coated the princess's dress. Before Lucy could ask her Coronal Contests Coordinator what was wrong, the CCC stomped over and began her rant without needing to be prompted.

"I must apologize profusely, your highness!" She said, jerking her torso down in a deep bow. "The Amaryllis flowers I had delivered for the ball are a horrible shade of vermillion instead of amaranth like I specifically requested! It throws the whole color scheme of the Ball off and much more gravely…. I fear that the color will clash with your dress."

Erza spit out her words with unfiltered shame, failure evident on the scrunched up features of her face. Lucy stared blankly at the woman, unsure of how to respond.

"It's alright…" Lucy started to say, not knowing how to comfort her. "I mean, I'm sure they are going to be more than fine."

"I've failed you!" Erza moaned. "They are clearly _Vermillion_ and are disastrously atrocious."

"Vermillion? Is that some shade of purple?" Levy asked, amused by the scene unfolding in front of her. Lucy shot her a harsh glance, urging her not to make the situation worse.

"Vermillion is RED!" Erza said, "And these flowers are merely a blander version of the princess's dress color. They certainly do not go together! I meant for the flowers to be amaranth, a delicate yet deep shade of pink that would have perfectly brought out the blush in her highness's cheeks…"

The redhead trailed off sadly and Lucy suddenly felt much more sympathetic. Erza was so dedicated to her job and must have spent countless hours making sure everything was perfect.

Lucy walked over and placed a comforting hand on Erza's shoulder.

"None of this is your fault." She told her gently. "I'm sure the amaranth would have been beautiful and I appreciate all the time you've spent making sure everything is perfect. And it will be. I don't care what shade the flowers are because I'm going to be meeting my future husband tonight. That's the most important thing to me, so don't feel guilty about the flowers."

"Thank you, your highness." Erza said looking up. "Your generosity is unmatched."

"Hey, now I thought I told you to call me Lucy."

"Of course." Erza said with a smile for a moment before she jolted up with a look of sudden recognition on her face. "The guests will be arriving soon! I must go! There are still things to be done!"

With that, Erza spun around and rushed out the door again in a hurry. Before she closed the door behind her, however, she poked her head back through the doorway, calming down for a brief moment.

"Good luck tonight, Lucy. You are going to be great."

Erza left for good this time without waiting for a response. Levy laughed once more.

"Wow, she's quite the character."

"Yeah." Lucy agreed softly. "But she's definitely the kind of person you want to have at your side."

XXX

Even though her glass slippers were comfortable at first, no shoes could have prevented the aching pain in Lucy's feet as she danced a full song with yet _another_ man.

The Ball had been in full swing for about an hour now. She had her big entrance into the Grand Hall with an entire orchestra playing and was greeted by a gigantic room packed to the brim with the most eligible bachelors in Fiore. They clapped enthusiastically for an unreasonably long period of time upon her arrival. Her father gave a short speech shortly after, announcing that at the end of the night Lucy would select ten men to continue onto Stage Two of the Coronal Contests.

Ever since then, Lucy found herself matched up with one dance partner after another. Men were grabbing her arm and asking for a dance all over the place and, of course, she said yes to every one of them, even the pudgy 30 year old with a thick brown mustache that covered his upper lip.

Currently she was dancing with… Brian? Benjamin? Barton? She couldn't seem to remember the name he introduced himself with a few minutes earlier, but that was no surprise as she already had no less than fifty names thrown at her in the past thirty minutes alone.

Anyway, the nameless man she was dancing with was rather handsome. He was probably in his early twenties and had a neat shock of black hair and sported warm green eyes. She might have actually enjoyed dancing with him if it weren't for the trickle of sweat she felt slivering down her back. Not only were her feet aching with so much dancing, but her muscles were tired too. It was a lot of work to do in heals and a tight dress.

Thankfully, the song ended before too much longer.

"Thank you for the dance." Lucy said sweetly, taking her hands off his shoulders.

"Care for another?" He asked hopefully. Lucy couldn't tell if the gleam in his eyes came from a one-sided connection or originated from pure greed. Either way, she needed a break.

"I must decline. There are many people here that I must split my time between. It was a pleasure meeting you though." She said, perfectly reciting the line she had practiced for this very situation. It was a line she repeated to all of the men who insisted on one dance too many.

"The pleasure was all mine, your highness." He said, picking up her hand to give it a swift kiss that maybe lingered too long. "We shall meet again before the night ends."

"I look forward to it." She spat out the lie quickly, finding the man rather creepy all of a sudden.

 _Maybe it would have been less weird if I knew his name…_

Spotting the long table of refreshments across the room, Lucy began to make her get away, daydreaming about an icy cold drink of water to soothe her dry throat.

As she weaved through the crowd, she was talked to by nearly every man she passed as they clamored for the chance to introduce themselves to the princess. She returned their introductions with a hasty greeting of her own and would continue to rush away before any of them could ask for a dance.

Although she was making progress, the crowd of people was so thick that Lucy began to feel that it would be impossible to transverse the entire hall to get to the refreshments table. She shouldn't have been surprised by the sheer number of people who showed up, but still the amount of bodies crammed into one room was appalling. Not only were there hundreds and hundreds of men, but there were also quite the number of woman as well. Most Noblewoman were invited to the ball as it was necessary to have more than just one dance partner for the hordes of competitive men. Lucy liked to play around with the idea that some other future couple would meet here as well and fall in love. It was one of the things that made her excited for tonight.

And despite numerous warnings from the part of herself that didn't want to get her hopes up, Lucy allowed her eyes to search the crowd yet again for the main reason she was genuinely excited for tonight.

She didn't tell anyone about the boy she met on her escapade into Oakdale Town a few days ago, not even Levy. She liked holding that secret close to her chest partially because it made the whole idea of meeting a handsome stranger that much more mysterious and thrilling, but also because she didn't want anyone to see her inevitable disappointment if Natsu were to not show up.

It was a strange sensation. Natsu and she didn't really get off to the best start when they first met. Sure he had rescued her from some street thugs, but he had made it more than clear that he hated noble and wealthy people.

Being in the top three most noble and wealthy people in Fiore, she definitely was not someone on Natsu's good side. In fact, he probably would dislike her even _more_ when he found out that she happened to be the Princess of Fiore. In that regard, she should be hoping that he wouldn't show up so that she wouldn't have to face any potential yelling or anger, but she couldn't deny that she wanted to see the strange boy again. All her life, Lucy had experienced nothing but kindness and respect from other people and so it intrigued her when someone wasn't afraid to tell her how they really felt. It was that brutal and unfiltered honesty that Natsu openly displayed that made her want to have another conversation with him.

When she bought him the suit, he seemed like he was seriously considering coming to the Ball, but after another visual scan around the Grand Hall, she spotted not a single strand of pink hair.

She sighed in disappointment.

"Need some water, your highness?" A kind voice said from beside her. "You look like you could use a refreshment."

"You have no idea!" Lucy replied instantly, forgetting her proper manners in the tidal wave of relief that crashed over her. She looked up to see who was offering her the glass and instantly straightened up when she saw two very attractive boys around her age standing in front of her. "I mean, thank you so much I would appreciate it greatly."

"It's my pleasure." The first boy said. His blonde hair was impeccably styled, but at least it wasn't slicked back with gallons of gel like the majority of men here. To match his light visage, were a pair of narrow but piercing blue eyes that were locked right on hers.

He handed her the glass and Lucy, taking it gently with a smile, slowly gulped the entire thing down. She was slightly embarrassed by her guzzling, but it was more than worth it as she felt the cool liquid slide refreshingly down her crackly throat.

"Thank you." She said once she finished drinking all the water. She offered her hand out to the blonde boy and he took it firmly, kissing her lightly on the knuckles.

"My name is Sting Eucliffe and this is my brother, Rogue." He said smoothly, charisma leaking from his silky voice.

"Pleasure to meet you, your highness." Sting's brother, who was dressed in all black with black hair and black eyes to match, said with a simple nod. To Lucy's surprise he didn't kiss her hand like all the other men around here insisted on doing, and the princess appreciated that. She could tell Rogue wasn't going to be anything that he wasn't.

 _Sting and Rogue._ Lucy thought to herself. _I'm definitely not going to forget_ those _names._

"We've been waiting all night for a chance to introduce ourselves." Sting said, making Lucy feel comfortable with casual and unforced conversation. "But it always seemed like you were constantly on the dancefloor."

"Not by my choice." Lucy replied. "I enjoy a good dance, but it gets rather tiring without any breaks."

"Would you like to dance with me?" Sting asked suddenly, taking Lucy by surprise.

"Um… sure I suppose-"

"I was joking." The blonde said with a smirk. "I'm just messing with you."

"Oh thank goodness!" Lucy laughed in relief. "My feet are not ready for another waltz."

And that was Lucy's first genuine laugh of the evening. It was a breath of fresh air to meet somebody tonight that wasn't strictly business and wasn't afraid to joke around with her. It was nice to know that at least someone could be themselves around a princess.

"You're much too nice." Rogue said in his deep, steady voice. Lucy got the feeling that this Rogue character didn't speak much, so she took into account the words that did escape past his mouth.

"It's part of the job." She replied with a shrug.

"But still you don't have to dance with every creep that comes up to you. If you ask me there should have been stricter restrictions on who is allowed in here." Sting commented.

"Perhaps you're right. Although I don't think I regret allowing any eligible man to attend. It lets me meet new people, you know?

"Of course." Sting said, nodding in understanding. "This is a very important decision you must make and so you must consider all possible options. All I'm saying is that some of those options require less consideration."

Lucy laughed, sure that Sting wasn't being completely serious this time either. He laughed along with her and even Rogue allowed his lips to twitch in an almost unnoticeable smirk.

"Lucy." A deep, rumbling voice said as it approached. It came from her father, the tall broad King of Fiore who donned his opulent crown for the special event.

"Father." She greeted with a smile as the two boys she was talking to bowed in their King's presence.

"I have someone I would like you to meet. He has traveled all the way from the country of Minstrel to meet you." The King said, his voice resonating above the clamor of the dance.

"I must meet him then." Lucy said, slightly disappointed she would have to leave her new friends to meet another pompous nobleman, but she understood that it was her responsibility. "I apologize, Sting, Rogue. I must go."

"We understand, your highness." Sting answered while Rogue simply nodded in agreeance.

"Very good." Jude said and he gestured for Lucy to follow him as he paved a path through the crowd with his presence alone.

"Listen, Lucy." Her father said, his voice growing much more serious. "I assure you that I am going to let you make the decision of who will become your husband on your own, but I must make clear my endorsement of the young man you are about to meet. He is the second son of the King of Minstrel, making him the prince. His older brother will undoubtedly take the thrown in their country, so after negotiations with Minstrel's King, I've convinced him to send his second son here to meet you. If he becomes your husband, the future of Fiore would be bright as Minstrel is a large and very powerful country. A solid alliance with them would prove most profitable."

"I see." Lucy said, suddenly feeling a lot of pressure placed on her shoulders. "I will be on my best behavior then."

"Thank you, Lucy." He said proudly.

The King led his daughter over to a less crowded part of the Grand hall where there wasn't so much dancing. There was a young man standing alone with his hands casually stuffed into his pockets. He had to be around the age of 18.

"There he is." Her father told her. "Go introduce yourself."

"Yes, sir." Lucy replied and confidently walked up to the boy.

"Hello." She said politely. "I'm Lucy Heartfilia, Princess of Fiore. I'm very pleased to meet you."

"Sup." The prince said with a nonchalance that went along perfectly with his messy dark hair and disinterested dark blue eyes. "I'm Gray. Gray Fullbuster."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Guys, you have no idea how proud I am of myself for getting this chapter written in such a short amount of time. This means that there is still hope for semi-consistent updates!**

 **Anyway, things are getting good, aren't they? Sting is getting on Lucy's good side and our heroine has just met Gray, who happens to be a Prince!**

 **But you might be asking where the heck is Natsu? Why wasn't he at the dance? Well, stay tuned for the next chapter to find out! I wanted to fit more into this one, but before I knew it this chapter hit 4,000 words and I thought I might as well cut it off sooner than planned otherwise it would A.) Be like 8,000 words long and B.) Not be posted for several more days.**

 **Oh, and fun fact! The Amaryllis flowers that Erza was freaking out about the color of actually has a really cool/tragic love story in Greek Mythology. Just thought I'd throw that fun tidbit in there because symbolism is awesome and I didn't pick just any random flower to use in my story.**

 **Yay! Alright that about wraps this little note up so I will bid you farewell with the promise of a new chapter to be posted ASAP.**

 **Stay cool ;)**


	5. Chapter 5: Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo

Chapter 5

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo

"I look ridiculous." Natsu complained, looking down to examine the clothes he was wearing, clothes that were not too much better than the outfits Sting and Rogue had left to go to the ball with. Strangling his chest was a gold embroidered jacket that was far too tight and shiny for the wizard's taste. The black pants and silky shirt he also wore were okay, but still the whole getup was far too stiff and shiny for his ordinarily simple taste.

"No, you don't. You look absolutely handsome." Wendy gushed from her spot on her cot in the tiny third floor loft of the family ranch house. She wore the same bland and slightly dusty brown dress she always sported for doing housework, but her brother looked fit to attend a Royal Ball. His hair was freshly washed and shampooed, his skin was completely clear of the usual smears of dirt and he was dressed in nicer clothes than either of them had ever seen before. His suit was probably more expensive that the ones Igneel would wear to business meetings in town before he disappeared.

"I can't believe people actually wear this stuff on a daily basis."

"You better start believing it, your majesty." The girl giggled playfully at her older brother.

"Don't call me that!" He immediately protested, earning a bombardment of even more laughter.

"You're going to marry Princess Lucy and become King! Everyone's going to call you "Your Majesty" one day. It's destiny."

"I think a lot more people would be Kings if destiny worked like that." Natsu ran a hand through his hair, trying to mess it up a little to offset the pristine ambience of his clothes. "Besides, I bet there are going to be hundreds of dudes at this place. I may not even get the chance to talk to her."

"Promise me you'll at least try to go on to the next round." Wendy replied.

"I promise, but I can't guarantee much more than that."

"Come on, Natsu, I thought I had you believing a little more in destiny."

"You do, squirt." He lied easily as he sat down next to her on the cot, placing a comforting arm around her shoulder. "I just don't think you should be getting your hopes up on this Ball."

Wendy nodded her head once and let out a small sigh.

"Alright, but there is still one more thing you can promise me."

"And what's that?"

"Promise me you'll have fun." She said and for the first time Natsu could detect a small amount of jealously in her voice. It was almost undetectable, but the protective older brother couldn't help but notice the heaviness in her voice that wasn't there before. "I wish I could go to a Royal Ball dressed up in a fancy outfit."

"I wish you were the one that got to go too. Are you sure you don't want me to hang back? We could sneak out into the woods and practice our magic like we used to. That'd be fun too-"

"No way! You are going to the Ball no matter what! If I can't go, I want you to be there so that you can tell me all about it when you get back. I want to hear every detail, right down to the color shoes the princess is wearing."

Natsu laughed, feeling a little bit of his guilt float off his shoulders. "You got it, squirt."

"Alright. Sting and Rogue already left for the Ball a while ago, so Eldia should just be downstairs in the parlor." Wendy said, snapping into a more serious tone as she ran through the plan once more. "If you sneak out one of the windows on the east side of the second floor, you'll have a straight shot to the barn. Steal one of the horses and you'll be on your way to the castle. It should be about a forty-five minute ride to the north."

"Got it." Natsu nodded. "I'll be going then. See you later, Wendy!"

He kissed the blue head of his little sister and sprung up to make his way for the door.

"You know, you never actually agreed to my second request." The girl said right before he could leave. That got Natsu to break into a small smirk.

"I'll have fun." He said. "I promise."

XXX

Natsu landed lightly on the ground after jumping out of a window on the second story of the ranch house. Absorbing the impact smoothly with bent knees, he sprung back up to begin running as quietly and quickly as he could beneath the star painted night sky.

His journey, however, did not go unnoticed. He heard a soft fluttering approaching him from his left and glanced over to see a small blue cat gliding towards him with magnificent feathery white wings outstretched.

"Hiya, Natsu!" Happy chirped, much too loudly for the covert nature of his friend's mission. "I can't believe you are actually going to this Ball thingy."

"What are ya, crazy?" Natsu hissed, keeping his voice soft but fierce. "Put those wings away before someone sees you! Jeez, I thought I was the reckless one."

"You are." Happy said, allowing his wings to disappear as he landed squarely on Natsu's head, returning to the image of an ordinary (albeit blue) cat. "This whole sneaking away to the Ball thing is pretty stupid. There's no way Eldia isn't going to find out."

"So long as she finds out after it's over, I don't care." Natsu huffed as he pumped his arms along with the stride of his run.

To keep up the charade being a normal, magicless cat, Happy lived in the barn along with all the other animals. Natsu was glad his little buddy was here to see him off.

"You're funeral." Happy shrugged as his ride slowed down upon reaching the entrance to the barn.

"That's a little dramatic, don't you think?" Natsu replied as he undid the latch that locked the barn doors closed at night. "You knows? She may never even find out."

Natsu was forced to eat his words the second he pushed open the massive wooden doors of the barn.

Eldia was standing directly inside, standing erect and waiting stiffly with her bony arms crossed menacingly across her chest.

"Where do you think you're going?" She asked, her voice ringing out callously through the night, slicing through the air, sharp as a broken dream.

The pink haired boy froze in his tracks, his dark eyes wide with shock as a startling jolt surged through every fiber in his body.

"What are you doing here?" He stammered out. Happy jumped off of his head and sat down on the ground, licking his paws, pretending to be a normal cat once more.

"I believe that was my question to you." She said back slowly, drawling out her words with a vindictive sneer.

"I'm going to the Opening Ceremony Ball at Fiore Castle." He said firmly, standing his ground with a resolute glare in his eyes. There was no way he was going to let the witch stop him, not when Wendy had so much hope riding on tonight. He made a promise and he was going to keep it.

"I don't recall giving you permission to do so."

"I'm not surprised since I don't recall asking." He shot back without missing a beat. The eyes of his stepmother were the coldest he'd ever seen, beady and black they were like two pits reaching down to the depths of hell.

Just when Natsu thought that he couldn't hate the woman more, she let out a harsh cackle of laughter.

"I assumed you'd be greedy and idealistic." She said. "It's no surprise that you would want to try and compete for the Princess's hand in marriage. What is positively hilarious, however, is that you'd think you actually have a shot. Royalty would never associate with the likes of you. The inclusion of all social classes in the contests are merely for good press. The real contenders are noble gentlemen, just like my two boys, Sting and Rogue. They will do whatever it takes to earn the princess's hand. Scum like you have no chance."

Natsu felt a growl rumbling that the back of his throat. He was angry- livid even, but there was nothing he could say in retaliation. What she said was true. He didn't have a chance with the princess and they both knew it.

"I don't care." He said. "I'm still going."

"No. I can assure you that you aren't." The twisted smile corrupting her face made Natsu feel sick to his stomach.

"Give me a reason why not." The boy challenged. Eldia acquiesced with ease.

"The pigs' stable needs cleaning." She said lightly with a casual confidence.

"I cleaned it earlier today." Natsu shot back.

"Check again."

Unable to resist, he strode over quickly to the Pigs' stall, his jaw dropping open in disbelief at what he saw.

While the stall was usually filled with a dry and light brown dirt covered with piles of hay that the pigs loved to build nests inside of, it was now flooded with water, creating a muddy and soupy mix of mud and hay that the four pigs inside were wallowing and rolling around in, dirtying the area even more.

Nostrils flaring and eyes bulging in anger, Natsu realized that his stepmother must have purposefully flooded the pigs' stall. All so that he wouldn't be able to go to the stupid dance.

"What the hell did you do?!"

"Nothing." She replied with pure evil in her eyes. "You're the one in charge of the barn's caretaking."

"Liar." Natsu hissed back at her.

"Better get started on the cleanup. Looks like that is going to take a while."

Natsu turned back around to more closely examine the mess he would need to clean up. The stall was saturated with mud and looked like bubbling brown swamp. First he would have to move the pigs- which was always difficult- then he would need to somehow get all the mud out and replace it with fresh dirt and hay. Bare minimum it would take an hour and a half. The Ball had already been going on for a while now. Would he be too late by the time he finally got there?

Then he felt a hard shove on his back.

He fell face first into the muddy mess on the floor of the pigs stall, crashing into a soft yet grossly moist cushion of watery soil.

The pigs around him squealed as Natsu's entire body submerged into the pool of mud. He quickly sat back up and stared at his stepmother with pure unadulterated rage. She towered over him, casting a dark shadow on his mud stained face.

"Feel free to attend the Ball after you finish cleaning up the stalls." She said, pretending as though she hadn't just pushed Natsu into the dirt. "Of course, I wish you the best of luck trying to win over the princess looking like _that_."

"Go to hell." Natsu spat, although it did little to affect the smug demeanor of his stepmother.

With one last sinister cackle, Eldia turned around and strutted out of the barn, high heels clicking on the ground beneath her as she closed the wide doors behind her, latching them shut. Despite her previous words, she locked Natsu inside.

"Damn it." He cursed, still sitting in the pool of brown sludge. He tried rubbing some of the mud out of his eyes, but it did little good as his hands were caked with the grime as well.

It didn't matter that Eldia had locked him inside. There was no way he could still go to the Ball like this. His pink hair was weighed down by clumps of brown and the suit Marla had bought him was completely ruined. He wasn't an expert on clothes, but even he could tell the massive mud stains would prove to be irremovable as they coated his entire outfit in a thick layer of brown.

How was he going to explain this one to Wendy? She was going to be devastated…

"Natsu! Natsu, are you okay?" Happy squealed as he hurried over to his friend. He stopped in his tracks just outside the stall and gasped when he saw what had become of his pal. "Oh boy."

"I hate that woman." Natsu hissed. "I hate her so much."

"Hey Natsu." Happy said quietly.

"What?"

"You got a little mud on your face." The little blue cat covered his mouth with a sheepish paw, giggling in an otherwise very tense situation.

"I KNOW!" Natsu roared. "What the hell am I supposed to do now? Wendy was so looking forward to me going to the Ball…"

"We'll figure something out."

"Like what?" Natsu huffed, crossing his arms in frustration.

"Perhaps I can help." An entirely new voice rang out inside the barn. Natsu looked towards Happy, but the little blue cat clearly hadn't uttered a word. He looked just as surprised.

To both of their disbelief, a new figure had appeared inside the barn. It wasn't his stepmother. It wasn't even anyone that Natsu had seen before.

It was a young girl, not too much older than Wendy. She was dressed in a strange dress, pale and full of ribbon and frills, as her long blonde hair fell in wavy cascades on top of it.

"Hello, Natsu." The girl said in dreamy sing-song tune. "I'm Mavis, your Fairy God Mother."

XXX

"Sup." The prince said with a nonchalance that went along perfectly with his messy dark hair and disinterested dark blue eyes. "I'm Gray. Gray Fullbuster."

Lucy was momentarily taken aback by this informal introduction, but quickly regained her composure as she pushed her shoulders back and straightened her neck.

"You have no idea how excited I am that you are able to attend, Prince Gray. I look forward to getting to know you."

"Right." Gray said slowly, raising an eyebrow as he stared at her with unblinking eyes, noticing her stiff muscles and forced smile. Finally, he let out a sigh and then, to Lucy's shock, reached out and placed a friendly hand on her shoulder as if they were old friends and not royal acquaintances. "Look, I'm gunna make this easy on you, Lucy. I'm only here cause my father wanted me to be and I'm pretty sure the same goes for you too so there's no need to try and impress me or nothin'. What do you say we drop the awkward pretenses and make this night a little easier on both of us?"

Lucy was lost for words. She didn't know what she was expecting when her father was telling her about the prince from Minstrel, but it was definitely not _this_. Unsure of what to do with her hands, she held them stiffly at her sides.

"Sure?" She said, her voice squeaking into something that sounded more like a question than an answer.

"Cool. Oh, and call me Gray. I'm not a fan of when people put a "prince" in front of it."

"Why?" Lucy asked, the question coming out before she could stop it. "It's what you are, after all. You _are_ a prince, aren't you?"

"That's what everyone tells me." Gray shrugged. "Personally, I never bought into the idea. My dad always tries to get me to do all this princely stuff, but I've never been too interested. "

"But you agreed to come here."

"Thought a new country might be interesting to see. And my dad really wasn't about to take no for an answer." He said and then shot a narrow glance at the blonde. "I bet you know all about that."

Lucy took immediate offense to his statement.

"I don't actually." She said. "My father would never make me do anything I didn't want to do. That's why he's such a great man and an even better King."

"Easy there." Gray said, throwing his hands up in defense. "I'm not trying to argue. I'm sure he's a great guy."

"He's the best." She said definitively with a satisfied nod. She let out a breath and then shook her head in confusion. "So what do you want from me? Normally, I'd automatically put you through to the next stage of the Coronal Contests because our marriage would be so advantageous for Fiore, but if you're not interested-"

"Which I'm not."

Lucy raised her eyebrows in surprise and then bit her tongue in irritation at his blunt statement. She understood that he wasn't a fan on all this whole royal courting scenario, but didn't common courtesy demand a little bit of politeness? She always appreciated honesty, but it was in situations like this where a little white lie would be far more appropriate!

"Then should I just send you home now?" She asked, letting her frustration bubble to the surface.

"That's pretty harsh. You don't even know me."

"You said you aren't interested in marriage!"

"Damn straight. I'm like 18."

"I'm 17." Lucy retorted, not sure what the point of this conversation was.

"Then maybe you should hold off on the whole marriage thing too."

"That's not exactly an option for me." Lucy huffed, deflating for a moment as she remembered her unfavorable circumstances.

"Didn't think it was."

"Why are you so extraordinarily unhelpful?"

"Was I supposed to be helpful?"

"You're supposed to want to marry me!"

"Yeah, sorry about that."

Lucy broke off their banter by breaking eye contact and rubbing her forehead to soothe the headache quickly developing inside her skull. Was this guy being serious? This was supposed to be the biggest and best night of her life and Gray was taking it like it was some joke. Sure she was being whiny and acting just a tad like a spoiled princess, but he was supposed to be acting like a prince!

Alright, well the way he viewed the whole situation made it all seem rather ridiculous, but that was still no excuse. He hadn't made things easier on her by dropping the "pretenses", he made them a million times harder.

"What am I going to do?" Lucy said out loud. Even though she didn't voice her question directly to the dark haired boy, he answered with a voice much more sympathetic than it had been before.

"Hey, I didn't mean to offend you or anything like that." He said. "I just know that the only thing I'd be worse at than being a husband is being a king. Me on the throne would not be a pretty sight."

That got Lucy to smile a little. Looking at Gray's messy locks of raven black hair that fell over his dark pools of blue and his other handsome features, she couldn't help but think that Gray sitting on the throne would be a very pretty sight indeed. She could almost imagine the crown of gold shining like a halo on the top of his head.

Gray returned her smile briefly before he turned his head to look to his left. He chuckled slightly.

"On the bright side, I did bring someone with me who I think would be _very_ interested in being your husband."

Lucy had just enough time to fret over the mysterious wink Gray offered her before she saw the person approaching them with a certain swagger in his graceful steps. With mounds of orange-ish brown hair and a confident smirk, the princess knew she was about to meet yet another larger than life character.

"At last." He said, stepping in front of Gray to stand between him and Lucy, his face so close to the girl's that she had to pull back a little bit to preserve her personal space. "I've searched far and wide for you tonight, Princess Lucy. I find it incredible that something so stunning could have evaded my eyes for so long, but now I see that Gray is the culprit for keeping you all to himself. What a crime."

"Smooth, bro." Gray said with a laugh and then spoke to Lucy. "That's Loke. He's my best friend from back home. He's like this with all the girls."

"None of which are as deserving as you, princess." Loke said, recovering flawlessly with an effortless smile to boot.

"Nice to meet you." Lucy said, taking a step away from him as discretely as possible.

"The pleasure is all mine. Now, would you do me the honor of dancing with me?" He asked, clearly not considering for a moment that the girl would say no. He was definitely not the type to get rejected often.

"Sure." She said, forcing a smile onto her face while she inwardly let out a massive groan.

This was quickly turning into the longest night of her life.

XXX

"You're my _what_?" Natsu blurted out rather rudely, not believing what his ears were telling him.

"You're Fairy God Mother." The dainty girl in the frilly dress responded cheerfully, emanating a peaceful glow that lit up a spot in the dark shadows of the barn. "But you can call me, Mavis."

"Fairy God Mother?" The boy echoed. "But you're younger than me!"

"Am not!" She responded indignantly, her childish protest contradicting her message. "I'm older than I look. Fairies don't age, you know."

"Natsu, why is there a pretty girl in the barn?" Happy whispered slowly to his friend as he glanced over at the aforementioned girl with suspicion.

"I can hear you!" She pouted, stamping her foot with a half-hearted frown. "And I told you. I'm here to help. That's my job as a Fairy God Mother."

"I don't know, you seem pretty suspicious to me." Natsu replied, scratching his head.

"I suppose I'll just have to prove myself." She said with a smile. "Get up out of that pool of mud."

Not having realized that he was still squatted down in the dirt with the pigs, Natsu didn't mind doing as he was told. Carefully, he stood up and exited the stall as he walked over to stand next to the new girl, noticing that he was a solid foot taller than her.

Mavis, raising her hands and closing her eyes, concentrated with intense focus. Suddenly, what appeared to be a stream of starry glitter erupted from her fingertips and began to swirl around the pig stall in a flurry of gold and silver. When the magic disappeared, the pig stall was back in pristine condition, mounds of dry hay settled on light brown dirt with the only trace of water residing in the feeding trough along the wall.

"There." Mavis said proudly, admiring her work. "See? I'm here to help."

"What, no Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo?" Natsu said, pretending to be unimpressed.

"That's only in the fairy tales!" The girl exclaimed, clearly taken aback by the lack of appreciation. "Look, if you aren't going to be grateful, then I might as well go-"

"No!" Happy and Natsu shouted at the same time. Then Natsu rubbed the back of his neck apologetically and wore a smile that was more than capable of melting hearts.

"I was only teasing yah. I really am grateful." He said. "It's just I've never seen magic like that before. What kind is it?"

"It's Fairy Magic." She replied, pleased once more. "It's different than the magic you wizards use and doesn't have nearly as many limitations."

"Wait how do you know I'm a wizard?!"

"For goodness sake, I _am_ your Fairy God Mother. I wouldn't be very good at my job if I didn't research a little about my clients before I met them." She giggled, the laughter ringing like bells throughout the barn. "I know all about you, Natsu. I know about your father and step family. I know about your adorable little sister and how much you love her. And I also know about your plans to attend the Ball and since it is _very_ important for you to attend, here I am!"

"Even if the pig stall is clean, I still can't go. Not when I look like this." Natsu told her, gesturing to his mud stained suit and dirty hair.

"What did I just tell you about Fairy Magic?" Mavis said with a sneaky smile. "You're right. That suit is ruined and won't do at all. Luckily I have something else up my sleeve."

Mavis waved her hands in a graceful circle, closing her eyes once more. This time the bright glitter that exploded from her finger tips moved and swirled around Natsu, concealing him in a vortex of gold and silver.

"Whoa what going on?!"

"Oh, relax." The girl said.

When the magic disappeared, Natsu reappeared looking better than ever. His dirtied clothes from before had all but disappeared and were replaced by sleek black pants with a matching black vest over a crisp white shirt that felt much softer and smoother on his skin that the itchy gold jacket he had been wearing before. Not only had his clothes been replaced but his hair had also been cleaned and styled to perfection as well as every ounce of mud being removed from his skin. He felt squeaky clean and could barely even recognize his own smell since he was currently more sanitary than he'd probably ever been in his life.

"Damn, not too bad." He commented, inspecting himself carefully.

"Whoa Natsu actually looks presentable." Happy chimed in with a mischievous giggle. Before Natsu could protest against that statement, Mavis's face suddenly lit up and she clapped her hands together, remembering something very important.

"Oh my goodness, I almost forgot the finishing touch!" She said, raising her hands in the air to perform one more spell. This time her magic came and went with a flash and suddenly, Natsu felt a distantly familiar warmth wrapped around his neck.

It was a scarf. Snowy white and unique with its scaly pattern, the garment swirled around Natsu's neck before both ends of the scarf dangled down behind his back. Natsu ran his fingers along the silky soft material, feeling the cool fabric slip beneath his fingertips like the sweetest honey.

"This is the scarf Igneel gave me." He breathed out slowly, straining to remember the last time he saw his most prized possession. "After he left, Eldia took it from me. I never thought that I'd see it again."

"I thought it was about time you got it back." Mavis smiled fondly.

"Thank you." Natsu said, not able to remember a time when he meant those two little words more. "Alright, I'm sold. You're definitely my Fairy God Mother, but I still think it's weird that you're so little."

"I've already told you that fairies don't age!"

"So you've always looked like a twelve year old?" Natsu asked with a quizzing stare. Happy slapped him on his head for being rude, but Mavis didn't seem to mind this time. She started staring at her feet and twiddled her fingers together in a nervous tick.

"Well… not exactly."

"Aha! I knew it."

"If you must know, I haven't always been a Fairy God Mother. I used to be human… until I died."

"YOU'RE DEAD?!" Happy and Natsu shouted at the same time, both their faces resembling jack-o-lanterns considering how wide their eyes and mouths were stretched open in shock.

"Technically." She replied sweetly, not at all disturbed by talk of her death. "But I was given the chance to come back and help people as a Fairy God Mother."

"So you're a ghost?"

"No of course not!" Mavis clenched her fists together in a pout once more, all gentleness gone. "I'm a Fairy! Is it really that hard to understand?"

"Don't listen to Natsu." Happy said with a shrug. "He's always been a little thick."

"Have not."

"Have too." The cat returned ready to play that game all day, but Natsu had other things on his mind.

"I just don't get how this whole Fairy God Mother thing works." He reasoned. "Isn't it pretty dangerous for you to go around flaunting your magic like this? It's illegal, you know."

"Unfortunately, yes. Practicing magic has become extremely dangerous around these parts, but I am more capable than most magic users at remaining covert. In the past I would cater more towards regular people, but these days it's the wizards who need the most help."

"These days?" Happy questioned. "Was magic ever not outlawed?"

"Well of course!" Mavis replied. "Back when I was alive, magic was everywhere and wizards were not only plentiful in numbers but also highly respected. They would even form magical Guilds and help people using their magic."

"I knew it!" Natsu said, his eyes lighting up. "I knew that magic wasn't evil. Igneel always told me that the King was spouting nonsense about it being dangerous and dad was right!"

"Your father was a very smart man." Mavis agreed.

"So what happened?" Natsu asked. "How come everyone hates magic these days? I hear things about that EIV disease thingy. What is that all about?"

Mavis giggled. "I'd be more than happy to tell you all about it one day, but there simply isn't the time now. You have a Ball to attend."

"Oh, right! I almost forgot about that." He said, slapping his hand to his forehead. The next moment he glanced towards the firmly latched door and a grimace of realization lit up his features in worry. "But wait the door is still locked! How am I gonna get out of here?!"

"I don't think that'll be an issue." His Fairy God Mother replied, still laughing. With another wave of her hands, a shot of her magic surged towards the exit, and an audible thump was heard as the latch broke off of the door from the outside and fell to the ground.

"Oh right." Natsu said, rubbing the back of his hair in embarrassment. He snapped out of it quickly, however, and ran over to one of the horse's stalls. He grabbed a chestnut brown mare and expertly saddled her and got her ready to ride. Swinging up onto the horse's back with effortless agility, he was ready to hit the road.

"Have fun, Natsu!" Happy cheered as he zoomed over to push the barn doors open for his friend. "I hope you fall in looooove."

"See yah later, little buddy. I'll be sure to bring you back some snacks if there is sushi."

"Ooo I hope there's salmon!"

"See yah, Mavis, thanks for your help!" Natsu rose a hand in farewell at his new friend.

"It was my pleasure. I hope you have the night of your dreams, Natsu."

That got the pink haired boy to laugh.

"It will be if the food's good." He replied and was about to spur the horse to ride away before he remembered something important. "Hey, is there any time limit of how long your magic lasts? Like do I have to leave the Ball for midnight or something like that?"

"Of course not." Mavis giggled. "That would just be silly."

"Sweet." Natsu replied and just as quickly as she had come, Mavis left, disappearing into a puff of smoke and golden glitter.

With one last wave to his little friend, Natsu followed in suit, racing his horse out into the night and turning quickly down the road that lead to Fiore castle, his newly found scarf whipping behind him in the wind.

XXX

Fiore Castle glimmered like a glamorous lantern, its illuminated silhouette standing out brighter than the moon against a black and starless night sky. As Natsu rode his horse up the long cobblestone driveway to the castle, flying past parked carriages and antsy stallions, he attempted to count the number towers that grew off the massive building like the branches of a tree. Even more difficult would be quantifying the number of Gothic styled windows that decorated the silvery gray stone walls of the buttresses and baileys that adorned the castle, giving it a unique structure that countless architects undoubtedly slaved over for years.

The driveway ran into a round-a-bout once it neared the castle entry. At the center of the circular drive was a magnificent bronze fountain that featured a statue depicting several people in long cloak-like garments that Natsu didn't know the significance of. He shrugged that detail off as he finally allowed his mare to halt.

"Thanks, Presley." He told the horse as he leaped off her back and landed lightly on the ground. He patted her long snout and she snorted back at him with affection.

"I shall take your horse to the stables if you so desire, sir." A teenage boy, presumably hired to attend to the horses and carriages of the Ball attendees, said. Even more strangely was that the boy gave him a short bow.

Natsu had never experienced _that_ before.

"Um sure, thanks a lot!" He replied, handing the boy the reigns.

"I'll have her ready for you at the end of the night." The boy assured him and led his horse away.

 _That was weird_.

Nevertheless, Natsu continued to make his way up the wide stair case that led to the entrance of the castle. He passed several guards who made no motion towards him as he entered and it wasn't until he was inside the Castle that someone stopped him.

"Welcome, sir." An older and finely dressed gentleman greeted him with a respectful smile. "Here for the Ball I presume?"

"Yep. Sure am."

"Right this way, sir. I shall lead you to the Grand Hall."

Stiffening slightly at how everyone was calling him "sir", Natsu merely nodded as he followed the butler up yet another stair case. This one was made of marble and after two flights, the pink haired boy saw his final destination, walking inside with a natural hesitation.

The large and unnecessarily tall doors were permanently swung open, revealing the inside of the Grand Hall. Natsu's eyes widened in shock. He was expecting this place to be luxurious, but seeing the Ball in full swing completely annihilated any expectations he may have had.

Eyes jumping from the crazy intricate chandelier, to the paintings on the walls, to the walls themselves that were adorned with gorgeous patterns and designs, to the glimmering marble floors, to the tables with bouquets of exotic red flowers he'd never seen before, to the long table of fancy appetizers and delicacies, to the tall crystalline glasses, to the variety of dresses and suits that attendees were wearing, Natsu was completely flabbergasted upon entering the Ball.

However, despite the unending opulence and dense crowds, Natsu's sight automatically rested on the most beautiful thing in the room.

She was wearing a bright red dress, a shocking crimson that held the tenacity of flames and the delicacy of roses all at the same time. Her blonde hair looked softer than silk, her skin was radiating with youth and vigor, and her brown eyes sparkled brighter than the castle itself.

 _Wait_ Natsu thought suddenly. _Is that..?_

"Marla?" He asked out loud, casting his voice over the buzzing crowd and ringing orchestra music.

Several people stopped their dancing to cast curious looks at the newcomer, but quickly looked away after seeing he was no one of consequence. Marla, however, froze in surprise and turned her gaze directly to him as she quickly excused herself from the dance she was sharing with some brown haired guy.

She picked up the skirts of her dress and rushed over to him with an enthusiastic thrill in her eyes. Ripples were sent down the bulk of her gown and the untamed fringe of her hair bounced beneath her quickened pace as well, but Natsu was no longer looking at her.

He was staring at the glimmering jeweled tiara that encircled her head like a crown.

No. It wasn't like a crown. It _was_ a crown.

"Natsu!" She said after reaching him. She was breathing hard but was clearly pleased to see him. "I'm so glad you could make it."

For a moment Natsu merely stood still in a mixture of confusion and wonder as he slowly started to put the pieces together in his head. Marla was rich. She was dead set on him coming to the Ball. She was here in a stunning red dress more expensive than his entire ranch. She was wearing a _tiara_.

She wasn't Marla at all. She was…

"You." Natsu stammered, raising a finger to point it at the girl. "You're the-"

"Oh, yes." She let out a small laugh as she tilted her head in good humor. "I guess the secret's out, huh?"

"You're the princess. You're Princess Lucy Heartfilia."

"The one and only." She replied, suddenly appearing slightly worried at his not so positive reaction. Natsu's mouth dropped open and all of his facial features went blank.

"Oh, shit."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **I don't know which is sadder, the fact that the only time I have to write this chapter is Saturday night, or the fact that I spent my Saturday night writing this chapter. Ah well, who am I kidding? This was totally worth it. I struggled at times to write this, but I really enjoyed reading it back and I hope you guys feel the same way. So much happened! Wendy and Natsu continue to be adorable together, Gray and Lucy are bantering, we meet Loke and his playboy self, Eldia becomes even more evil, Natsu meets Mavis who just happens to be his Fairy God Mother, and Natsu realizes that the rich girl he met is actually the Princess! I can't believe I crammed that all into one upload, but what's done is done.**

 **Oh and I couldn't help but title the chapter Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo. No regrets.**


	6. Chapter 6: The Other Half of the Story

Chapter 6

The Other Half of the Story

"Oh, shit."

"Excuse me?" Lucy said sternly, narrowing her eyes in appalled distaste as her hands moved to rest on her hips reflexively.

Realizing what just came out of his mouth, Natsu quickly slapped a hand to his lips, eyes widening with a new flurry of regretful emotion to mingle with his overall state of confusion and disbelief.

Lucy shook her head as she let out a sigh, unsure of what to say next. Clearly the boy wasn't going to answer her question any time soon with an iron grip preventing any new incriminating words from escaping. It would have been very easy for her to be angry for his disrespect. Nobles and especially royals have punished normal citizens for far less. However, she found only warmth in her heart. Despite his profanity and despite her outwards disapproval, the princess found herself in good spirits at his appearance. She had, after all, spent a good portion of the Ball thus far hoping that he would arrive and now that he had, he could probably say anything and she wouldn't be _too_ angry.

"I see you found something else to wear besides the suit I bought you." Lucy said, not dropping the accusatory tone in her voice. _He_ didn't need to know she was going to let him off the hook so easy.

"Uh…" The pink haired bow drawled. Even though he dropped his hand, he was still unable to form a coherent sentence, preferring instead to scratch the top of his head with a confused expression accompanied by a wrinkled nose and furrowed brow, causing Lucy to drop her act entirely act the cuteness of it.

"Look, I understand if you found something you liked better. That gold jacket might have been a bit much…"

"Uhhh…"

"And don't worry I'm sure I'm the only one that heard you, so you aren't going to get in any trouble or anything, but I'd keep the crude language to a minimum if I were you. It's really not appropriate and I'm sure my CCC wouldn't hesitate to throw you out for it."

"Wait so your name isn't Marla?" Natsu asked, still with a blank look in his eyes. Lucy raised an eyebrow. He was a bit slow.

"No, I'm Lucy."

"Princess Lucy?"

"Yes."

"Is your middle name Marla?"

"No."

"Then what's your middle name?"

"I don't have a middle name."

"Last name?"

"Heartfilia! My name is Lucy Heartfilia! Not Marla."

"Then who's Marla?"

"THERE IS NO MARLA." Lucy cried out, her frustration bubbling over into a tone much too loud for the polite setting, causing several curious glances to be thrown in her direction. Steadying herself with a deep breath, she forced herself to calmly spell it out for the boy in an easy to understand manor. "I lied to you earlier. I didn't want you to know that I was a princess, so I made up the name Marla. Is it that hard to understand?"

Despite her best efforts, she couldn't help but allow some exasperation to leak into her tone at the end of her explanation. She half expected Natsu to remain oblivious, but his expression changed to something much more surprising. His features hardened and he crossed his arms across his chest, all silliness and idiocy vanishing into thin air.

"Yes." He stated. "It is hard to understand. It's hard to understand why a _princess_ would pretend to be anything less than royalty."

His tone was cutting and bitter. Lucy stiffened at the sudden turn of events. She understood Natsu's open displeasure with nobility upon their first encounter, but she had no idea that he would insist on acting so unfiltered at a royal event knowing that she was not only wealthy, but also the heir to the throne. He clearly wasn't the type to hold anything back, but as Lucy felt her heart beat quicken and her face flush red, she remained firm in her belief that there were definitely times where you shouldn't just blurt out whatever crosses your mind. If he was going to attend her ball he should recognize some measure of common courtesy.

"Of course you don't understand." Lucy replied coolly. "You don't know what it's like to be a princess, to have your life constantly examined by a million people under a microscope, to have your own wishes deemed secondary when compared to the wellbeing of a nation. You don't know what it's like to be me, so you have no right to judge me for my actions."

Natsu raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"I wasn't judging you." He said much more casually than before, oddly amused at her outburst. "I was trying to _understand_ you. It's not every day a princess stumbles into Oakdale."

"Oh." Lucy said quietly, now embarrassed for overreacting. "I apologize. I didn't mean to imply-"

"You really don't need to apologize." Natsu waved her off with a simple shrug. "You must have people judging you all the time. Why would I be any different?"

Lucy tilted her head and let a small smile grow between her cherry red lips. All of her previous tension was gone and she allowed her body to relax in Natsu's sunny presence. Although he was dressed in black, he seemed to exude fresh air and sunlight in the stuffy Grand Hall, warming the space around him with a refreshing casual glow that sharply contrasted with the artificial perfection of the surrounding Ball.

"You are different." She said softly, feeling light and bubbly herself as she looked directly into Natsu's eyes.

"It's called not being rich." He replied bluntly, breaking the eye contact by tilting his head to the side in an annoyed glance that completely shattered Lucy's sunny bubble. "I bet you have lots of guys to entertain. I'll leave you to it."

With that, he started to walk away, hands tucked behind his neck as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"That's not what I meant!" Lucy protested. Natsu stopped in his tracks and the blonde let out yet another sigh of frustration. "Jeez, what is wrong with you? Do you have any idea how many mixed signals you are sending right now?"

"I thought I was making myself pretty clear." Natsu turned around to look back at her.

"That's rich. First you tell me all about how you hate the wealthy and would never come to this Ball. Then you let me buy you a suit and come to the Ball- and in a different suit than the one I got you might I add- and act like an idiot. Then you judge me then you're nice to me and now you are back to judging me again!"

"I'm not judging you." He repeated himself.

"Yeah, you are."

"Am not."

"Are too!" She insisted, stamping her foot on the floor like a spoiled teenager. Natsu grinned.

"Better be careful, or you'll break those fancy shoes of yours."

"Thanks for the advice." Lucy spat sarcastically, but she couldn't resist peeking down to her feet to make sure there weren't any cracks in her glass slippers.

"Whose idea was it to make shoes out of glass anyway? Seems like it would be pretty uncomfortable if you ask me."

"There you go judging again."

"Alright, so maybe I'm judging you a little." Natsu conceded.

"I knew it."

"But it's your own fault, really. Throwing this whole ridiculous Coronal Contests thing is basically begging for people to judge you."

"If it's so ridiculous, then why'd you come?" Lucy asked, not only to prove her point but also because she was curious about why someone who hated nobility so much would venture right into the heart of Fiore castle. In spite of herself, she couldn't help but hope that the reason had something to do with a girl named Marla. "And if you hate luxury so much, then where did you get that suit? It looks even more expensive than the one I got you."

The corner of Natsu's mouth lifted in a crooked smile, but it wasn't the kind that held any amusement or warmth. It was almost wistful. Sad.

"My kid sister Wendy is a bit of a dreamer. Princesses, castles, fairy tales, she loves all that stuff. So you can imagine how excited she was when she heard that ordinary civilians were going to be allowed inside the castle for a royal ball for a night. She wasn't eligible to go, of course, but I was. There was no way I could have stayed home, not when this is something she's dreamed about for so long. My job tonight is to relay every detail back to her. That's why I'm here.

"Oh." Lucy said softly, not failing to hear the warmth and love in Natsu's voice when he spoke of his sister. She immediately felt silly for thinking that he would be here for any other reason than one like _that_ …

"But my stepmother wasn't too crazy about me coming. So she sabotaged me and pushed me into a pool of mud so that the suit you got me would be ruined. I'm not trying to spite you by not wearing it, I just had to find something else under the circumstances."

Lucy let out a small gasp and automatically raised her hand to her mouth in surprise.

"What? Who would do something like that?"

"She's not a very nice person." Mischief and resilience danced in the dark pools of Natsu's eyes as he spoke what had to be the euphemism of the year. Lucy shook her head in disbelief, still not able to comprehend that level of cruelty towards a son or daughter.

"Why did she not want you to come? Surely, it could only be beneficial for her if you were successful in the Contests?"

To her surprise, Natsu let out a laugh.

"You'd think." He said. "I could write a whole book about all the reasons that woman wouldn't want me here, but nobody has time for that."

"I do." Lucy said firmly, instantly stopping the pink haired boy's stream of laughter. He looked at her in curiosity. "You said earlier that you were trying to understand me. Well, I'd like to understand you too. You've said that we are from different worlds and can't get along, but maybe that's just because we each only have one half of the story. I'd like to hear your half."

Natsu narrowed his eyes and examined her closely, trying to understand why a princess would want to hear about his life. Lucy felt slightly uncomfortable beneath his intense gaze. Her body was hot and her heart was pounding out of her chest. There was something about him that she had never experienced before, something wild, something dangerous. He didn't bow down to her and he didn't treat her with the polite respect she had known her whole life. She had asked him something deep, something personal and he felt no obligation to comply like the majority of her people would. He was now determining whether or not to trust her as a fellow human, as an equal. _That_ was what was wildly exciting about that moment.

"Sure." He finally said. "But we gotta get out of here first."

"What? Why?" Lucy said, thrown so far off guard that she didn't even have time to feel the joy of approval that fluttered through her stomach at his agreeance.

"Getting to know me isn't going to happen inside a stuffy Ball room, you know."

"I don't think I'm supposed to leave." She said hesitantly, suddenly unsure of herself.

"I thought princesses could do whatever they wanted to."

"You really have a lot to learn about me as well." Lucy scoffed. The biggest part of being a princess was that you couldn't do whatever you wanted to.

"Then let's go." He said simple, holding out a hand.

Lucy hesitated, flashing her eyes between his outstretched hand and his eyes, daring her to break away from her responsibilities, if only for a few moments.

"Live a little." He said, almost teasing her with his carefree smirk and daring eyes.

"Fine." She said with a gulp as she placed her hand in his, frightened by how delicate it seemed in his strong and calloused grasp.

But even more frightening was how utterly right it felt.

XXX

Natsu was probably one of the few people who felt more comfortable with the stench of dirt and animals under his nose than the more fragrant perfume of soap and sweets.

Remembering where the boy earlier had led his horse to, Natsu got Lucy to follow him to the same place: The Royal Stables. Having escaped from the blinding luminosity of the castle and into the dim lighting of a somewhat familiar setting, the pink haired boy was able to relax his shoulders a little and give off a more genuine smile. Grant it, these stables were nothing like the six pack of stalls he had back on the ranch. The Royals Stables were broad and wide with multiple aisles that seemed to stretch on for days that were covered by tiny bronze tiles matching the warm oak of the support beams lining the arched ceiling. The stalls themselves were well kept and sectioned off with wooden doors painted a sparkling white. Every once and a while a majestic steed would poke his head out to peer towards the newcomers before disappearing back into his cozy room of luxury.

Nevertheless, Natsu was back in his element. The same, however, could not be said for the Princess.

"What are we doing here?" She asked sharply, flickering her eyes between her stunning red dress and the monotone browns of the stables, feeling ridiculously overdressed.

He flashed her a quick smirk but for the most part ignored her question for now. Moving with a cheerful bounce in his step, he began walking down the aisle, peeking into the horses' stables as if he were looking for something in particular.

"Jeez, you guys must have people out here all day cleaning all these stalls. I guess that makes sense though. There is a billion of them."

"Well, of course. We have specific group of 30 servants who tend to the stables alone." Lucy answered promptly, switching into a formal tone, struggling to keep up with the boy's brisk pace, her glass heels clicking rhythmically against the tile floor.

"30? Damn, that's a lot." He said. More quietly he added something to himself. "Never thought I'd be jealous of Royal Servants."

"What was that?" Lucy strained her ears to hear him better this time, but Natsu had finally stopped dead in his tracks outside of a stall towards the end of the line as his face lit up with a pleased surprise.

"Presley!" He exclaimed with a smile. A heartbeat later the head of a beautiful brown horse poked out of the stall's window. Natsu reached out and patted the horse white-tipped snout and the animal responded in turn by nuzzling his cheek, happy upon seeing her old friend. He laughed at the display of affection before turning his head to look at Lucy. "This is Presley. She's the horse I road here on. We've been together since she was born."

"She's beautiful." The girl replied honestly, admiring the deep chocolaty eyes of the mare.

"And a total slob." Natsu replied with a certain playfulness in his eyes. "If there's one thing I can count on, it's that Presley will make a mess in her stall. Let's take a look."

He swung open the door and stepped inside to take a better look around. Lucy followed behind him, but didn't dare actually walk inside where the tiled floor of the aisle changed into a soft bedding of hay more comfortable for the horses.

The stall _was_ a mess. Not only was the ground soiled, but Presley had managed to spread horse feed all over the floor as well as spill a couple gallons of water out of the trough along the side wall. Lucy let out a small gasp of surprise, but Natsu just threw his head back and laughed.

"I knew it."

"Wow. It seems you were right. Your horse does have an affinity for… chaos."

"You got that right." He said. "Anyways, we better get started."

"Started doing what?" Lucy asked in surprise, not sure what the boy was talking about.

"Cleaning the stall." He replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. It was hard, however, to keep his straight face when he saw the look on Lucy's. She tried laughing at first, certain that he was telling a poorly executed joke, but when he didn't correct himself, the features of the princess's face stretch with an incredulous stupor.

"You're not serious."

"Sure am."

"That's really not necessary. I can call someone to do it for you. I insist-"

"I thought you wanted to get to know me?" He cut her off with a frustrating look of superiority across his smug complexion.

"I do, but that has nothing to do with-."

"I live on a farm. Every day I wake up at 5:00 AM, feed the animals, work out in the fields, and clean the stalls at the end of the day. _Every_ day. If you want to know what it's like to be me, the only way is for you to get your hands dirty."

The reluctance on her face was palpable, but to Natsu's surprise, she didn't give him an outright no. She looked at her hands and bit her lip in contemplation.

 _She's actually considering it?_ Natsu thought in awe. Never did he expect the Princess would actually go through with this…

"Alright, fine." She declared definitely, squeezing her tiny hands into determined fists. "I'll do it."

"Really?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Really." She stated with the upmost determination. "If this is what it takes for me to show you that I'm not so different, then so be it."

"Sweet." He said, finding a new respect for the Princess that he didn't expect to ever discover. "Grab a shovel."

"A shovel..?" Lucy trailed off as her eyes caught a particularly foul smelling substance inside the horse's stall. Inwardly she wanted to belch. "Oh no."

"Oh yes." Natsu replied. "Come on, I'll show you what to do."

And he did. After moving Presley out of the stall and securing her to a post not too far away, he showed Lucy how to separate the soiled bedding from the unsoiled bedding, shovel out all the old hay, dispose of waste into a wheelbarrow that eventually would need to be rolled outside for disposal, clean out the food bucket, add new hay to the stall with a handy pitchfork, and fill up the buckets with fresh food and water before leading the mare back inside.

To her credit, the Princess worked without complaining. Even when she dirtied her red dress a little, she did little more than sigh in frustration. She always kept a smile on though, doing her part with a steely determination, eager to prove that she could handle simple chores such as these.

"I can't believe you have to do this every day." Lucy said, panting as she pulled her working gloves off of her hands. Sweat was trickling down her neck and she wore a look of utter exhaustion on her face. They had finally finished and Lucy was utterly grateful that cleaning stalls was not in a Queen's job description.

"Well the horses usually spend most of their time outside, so technically I only clean out their stalls every other day, but the pigs are a different story."

"Pigs?"

"Yeah, now _those_ guys are really messy."

Lucy laughed.

"Well I certainly could not do what you do." She said.

"You could if you had to." He replied. "You weren't too bad, you know. I was expecting a lot worse."

"Is that a compliment or an insult?"

"Little bit of both." Natsu replied cheekily.

Bidding goodbye to the chestnut mare, the two teens wondered off down the row of stalls to the door, where a very perplexed looking guard dipped his head politely to the princess, holding the door open for her as she exited.

"Alright, now there's a place I want to show you." She said, the glimmer in her eye sparking not only from escaping the stuffy confines of the stables into fresh air, but also from a much more mischievous idea.

Lucy led them back inside the castle, but instead of returning to the Grand Hall, she walked in the opposite direction.

There wasn't much time for talking along their journey for Natsu was too busy being captivated by his surroundings. The hallways Lucy led him through were winding and confusing, but intricate in their own way. Although the walls and floors were both lined with stone, the periodic lanterns hanging on the walls gave a shadowy warmth to the passageways, lighting the various paintings and sculptures that decorated what would have otherwise been dull corridors.

Eventually, Lucy took him down a short flight of stairs and pushed open the door that stood at the bottom of it. To Natsu's surprise the door lead out to a beautiful courtyard. The small grassy area was surrounding by four tall walls of dark gray stone adorned with dark green ivy climbing up the heights and speckled with arched windows that provided a quaint view of the scenery below. A thin path lined with benches and patio tables circled around a small, round pond with smooth water that shone silver beneath the light of the moon above.

"This is my favorite spot in the whole castle." Lucy told him sincerely, glancing almost nervously at his face to search his expression for his reaction. "I like coming here to relax, read, or just get some peace and quiet."

"It's beautiful." He said, in yet another state of awe at the sheer luxuriousness of the world that he had stepped into. He had expected to see grand ball rooms and fancy sculptures, but he had no idea that he'd be encountering a space the captured the quintessence of nature so well. It was as though he had stepped into a land of fairies, magical and natural.

Lucy motioned Natsu forward to a swinging bench that stood at the bank of the pond, overlooking its moonlit waters and perfectly still surface. They sat in silence for a few moments, taking in the beauty of the night. However, Lucy felt the need to break the silence with a question that had been burning at the back of her mind for a while now.

"So you've said how you take care of your farm, but you never mentioned who helps you do all the work." She said quietly, raising her pitch at the end of her statement to make it sound like a question. Natsu smiled. He was guessing she already knew the answer.

"Nobody." He admitted. "My little sister takes care of all the inside work and I handle the outside. That's how it's been for years now."

"What about your stepmother?" Lucy asked.

"Who knows what she does with all her free time, but it's definitely not any sort of work." He said. "The same goes for my two stepbrothers as well…"

"But- How is that fair?!" Lucy burst out. She could imagine a stepmother not wanting to get her hands dirty, but to hear that Natsu had two perfectly good brothers who could be helping him out made the fact that he had to take care of an entire ranch by himself even more baffling.

"It's not." He replied bluntly. "That's sort of the point."

Lucy let out a small sigh and began to stare at her feet.

"Look… I understand if you don't what to talk about it with me, but… What happened to your real parents? How did things get like this with your family?"

Natsu's first instinct was to respectfully decline answering that question. It wasn't something he liked to talk about and he certainly did not imagine spilling out his screwed up family history with the princess of all people. But at the same time, looking at the blond girl with compassionate brown didn't really feel like he was looking at a princess anymore. She seemed more like a… person.

"Well I guess the first thing you should now is that my real mom died when I was six." He said slowly. Lucy's placed a hand over her heart and her eyes grew even wider with pity.

"Oh, Natsu, I'm so sorry I had no idea." She said, stuttering out the generic sequence of words people normally used whenever they heard about his childhood circumstances. He responded with a smile, letting her know that she didn't have to feel bad for him.

"Not long after that, my dad got remarried to the woman that is now my stepmother." He continued on. "That greedy psychotic woman took advantage of him and his money in his time of grief and married him, bringing her two sons with her to live with us. Things sucked, but at least I still had my dad. Or at least, I did. When I was seven my dad just left, disappeared. Didn't tell me where he was going and didn't say goodbye. I have no idea where he is or if he is even alive. My stepmother, of course, got all his property and money. And my sister and I, we've been living with her ever since."

When Natsu finished his anecdote, he was met with silence. Lucy was at a loss for words. Her lips were parted open slightly as if she were searching for the right thing to say, but came up blank. Natsu decided to save her the trouble of responding.

"You don't have to say anything." He told her quickly. "There's no need to. I'm fine. You just wanted to know, so now you know."

"I have to say something." Lucy shook her head firmly. "I just- I just don't know what to say. Your story… you're right. We are from different worlds. I can't imagine what you must have gone through, what you're still going through."

"It's no big deal." Natsu shrugged it off like he usually did, throwing the depths of his problems over his shoulder, discarding them like dead weight, hoping it wouldn't catch up to him.

Lucy saw through his act like it were glass. Nevertheless, she decided to let him act brave for now and ask a different question instead.

"Why do you stay?" She asked. "Can't you just run away? It can't be any worse than what you deal with now."

"Wendy and I can't leave." He said, shaking his head. He wanted to tell her more, but he couldn't just spill out all his secrets no matter how nice the princess was being. He couldn't imagine the look on her face if he were to reveal that he and Wendy were wizards and were hiding from the law. One thing's for sure is that they wouldn't be hidden anymore.

"Why not?" She pressed, now extremely curious.

"I'm hungry. You got any food around here?

"Don't change the subject!"

"What? I was just saying that I'm hungry. I never did get to see what kind of snacks you have at your Ball-"

"Why can't you answer my question?" She asked, only getting more frustrated when her repeated inquiry was once again met without a response. "If you don't have anywhere to go, you and your sister could stay in the castle. We have plenty of room and if you are going to be a part of the contests anyway, it makes sense."

Natsu froze. He hadn't been expecting her to say that. Was she being serious? Would the princess of Fiore seriously let a couple of farm kids stay in her castle? He considered the possibility for a moment. Wendy would absolutely adore the idea. Living in a castle would be like a dream come true for her. Just imagining the never ending grin that would be plastered on her face every day was almost enough for him to impulsively say yes to Lucy's proposition.

But then his common sense kicked in. It was already dangerous enough in Fiore for a couple of renegade wizards. Staying in the epicenter of law enforcement of the country seemed positively reckless. It was a very good possibility their secret would be let out within the first month. More than that was the issue of his stepmother. He already suspected that she knew that her stepchildren were trained by Igneel to be wizards and if Natsu was to take Wendy and run away to the castle, there was no way she would let them leave quietly. She would spill the secret and sell them out in a heartbeat.

"We can't do that either." He sighed, feeling the equivalent of a knife piercing through his heart as he was forced to turn down what would be a much happier life than the one he was currently living.

"You're not making any sense!" Lucy exclaimed incredulously. "Why do you want to stay there?"

"Because." Natsu said, quickly realizing that Lucy was not going to be satisfied without a definite answer to her question. And so, he gave her the _other_ reason why he couldn't leave his home, the one that he usually kept to himself. The irrational reason that he never allowed himself to admit was true. "It's my father's farm. I know I always say how much I hate that place, but that wasn't always true. When both my parents were alive, the ranch was so happy, so light, and I loved every part about it. The best memories of my life are on that farm. If I were to just leave, if I were to let my stepfamily do whatever they pleased with it, then all my dad's hard work would be for nothing. There's a part of me that still hopes one day I'll be able to get rid of my stepmother and take the farm back for my real family. I want to make it a place where Wendy and I can have good memories again."

"I see… Wait no." Lucy changed her mind mid-sentence, realizing that something wasn't adding up. "I don't see. I understand how you feel about your father's farm, but that doesn't mean that you can't leave for a while and then take it back from the outside. What you're saying makes no sense."

"I wouldn't expect you to get it." Natsu said.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You have two perfectly good parents and a perfect life to match. You don't understand what it's like to lose all of that. You don't understand what it's like to see everything you have disappear in less than a year. If you did then you would understand why I'm trying to preserve what little I have left from when my life was still complete."

Natsu allowed his words to spill out, speaking his mind without any filters. He wasn't trying to hurt the Princess's feelings, but she needed to learn how to let things drop. The blonde, however, was clearly not ready to do any such thing. She squeezed her hands into fists and bit her lip.

"Maybe I don't understand what it's like to lose a parent, but I will. And I definitely know what it's like to have everything fall apart." Lucy said, looking Natsu right in the eyes, unflinching and unblinking. She took a deep breath. "My dad is trying to downplay my mother's illness as much as possible. But the truth is that she is dying. The EIV Disease she is inflicted with is incurable and the doctors say she has less than six months to live. When my father and I got the bad news, he immediately told me that it was my duty to become the next Queen. Fiore law says that there must be a pair of married monarchs at the helm of the country at all times. My father is loyal to my mother, so as their only child, it is my duty to find a husband as quickly as possible and become Queen once my mother dies. That's why I'm going through these Coronal Contests. So yes, I know what it's like to have everything change."

Natsu broke eye contact with the girl and ran a hand through his hair, ruffling his spiky pink locks in understanding. Things were starting to make a lot more sense.

"I'm sorry about your mom." He said quietly. "That sucks."

"It does suck." Lucy agreed with a sad smile at his word choice.

"So you're going to be Queen, huh?" He shifted his gaze up to the stars as he added onto his question with a slightly bitter tone. "And you need a husband to be your King."

"That's the plan."

"So then what are you doing out here with me?" Natsu asked bluntly. A look of confusion spread across Lucy's face.

"What do you mean?"

"If it's really important for you to find the guy who can be the next King of Fiore, then why the hell are you wasting your time talking to me? Shouldn't you be back in that Ball with the princes and lords that could rule without actually blowing up the country?"

"I doubt you could actually blow up the country-"

"There's actually a _very_ good chance that I would."

"Your kind." Lucy told him as she gently shook her head, getting very serious. "You're spirited. You work hard. You know what it's like to live outside of a fancy castle. I'm not convinced you wouldn't make a good King."

Natsu considered her words for a moment before brushing them all of with a playful smirk.

"Are you asking me to marry you right now?" He teased.

"What? No!" Lucy immediately protested, a crimson blush invading her cheeks and she shook her head vigorously back and forth. "I wasn't saying that at all!"

"You sure? Cause it sure sounded like you want me to be King."

"I want you to start considering things that may be unfamiliar to you. Just like you wanted me to do." Lucy quickly collected herself and even rose to her feet, picking up the skirts of her dress as she did so. To Natsu's surprise she held out her hand. "And since I left my comfort zone to clean a disgusting horse stall, I think it's about time you get a little glimpse into my world. May I have this dance?"

"Dance?" Natsu echoed in confusion. He perked his ears up for any sign of music, but only heard the soft chirping of crickets and stillness of the night.

"Surely you didn't think you could attend a royal Ball and get away without a dance, did you?" She said with a smile.

"But there's not even any music playing." Natsu said begrudgingly. However, despite his words, he stood up to his feet and took her hand.

"I could get a whole orchestra out here in a heartbeat if that's what's holding you back."

"Hell no." Natsu quickly said as a shiver was sent down his spine at the idea. Still holding onto the Princess's hand, he pulled her closer to him and placed his other hand on her narrow waist. Lucy smiled and rested her free hand on his shoulder, pleased that she didn't have to make any more threats for him to go along with her idea.

They swayed back and forth slowly, but Natsu couldn't help but feel a bit ridiculous. While he was normally agile and light on his feet, they suddenly felt extremely heavy and clumsy as he focused on not accidentally treading on the Princess's delicate heels of glass.

"I have no clue how to dance." Natsu said, not bothering to pretend like he wasn't totally out of his depths.

"I can tell." Lucy teased, giggling a little bit at his discomfort. "But there really isn't much to it."

Lucy shifted closer to him, guiding his movements into a more rhythmic motion. She smiled that smile of hers once he got the hang of it and he couldn't help but return a grin back at her.

Natsu was suddenly fully aware of the contact between them. He like the way her small hand fit into his and he really liked how his hand resting on her waist was able to guide her body towards his.

It was then he started thinking that maybe dancing wasn't so bad.

Lucy was looking up at him with her big brown doe eyes, her lips parted into the ghost of a smile that she probably didn't even know was there. It was pretty cute. _She_ was pretty cute.

Natsu could have stayed in that moment forever, breathing in her scent, warming in her gentle presence. Subconsciously he leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers, locks of pink and gold mingling together beneath the starlight.

He wasn't thinking anymore. In that moment he forgot where he was, who he was with, and he couldn't even remember to breath. All he knew was that he wanted to get closer. Closer to her. There wasn't much space separating them, but it still felt like too much. What was now only a tiny gap seemed comparable to the widest ocean. He had to cross it.

But just before he could lean even more forward, he say something flash out of the corner of his half closed eyes.

It was an arrow.

A lethal arrow shot from a powerful bow. And it was speeding directly towards Lucy.

"LUCY!" He hollered, his sudden yell startling the princess whose eyes flung open with shock. Not having any time, he flung his body forward, tackling her to the ground milliseconds before the arrow whizzed through the pocket of air she had occupied a moment earlier. He collapsed on top of her against the grassy ground, but they both were unharmed.

Natsu quickly looked to see where the arrow had come from. It was only for a second, but Natsu clearly saw a dark figure move inside one of the castle windows that overlooked the courtyard. A heartbeat later, the figure disappeared and would probably be long gone by the time the castle guards could react.

Someone tried to assassinate Lucy. His stomach boiled with anger at the thought. He wanted to pursue the assassin himself, but he knew it would serve no good. He didn't have a shot at properly navigating the castle and wouldn't even know how to get back to the room the figure shot from.

"Guards!" He shouted instead, raising his voice so that anyone nearby could hear him. "Can we get some help over here?!"

Within seconds a small group of four iron clad castle guards burst into the courtyard.

"Is the princess alright?" One of them asked hurriedly through his metal helmet, the red plume sprouting off of it bouncing as he rushed onto the scene.

"There was an archer from that window." Natsu said as he pointed to the place he saw the figure. "He tried to kill her. You have to find him _now_."

The guards nodded and rushed off. Two of them were headed directly to the scene of the crime while the one other went to spread the word and get more help. The fourth and final guard stayed behind to watch over the princess.

The princess, who was still lying beneath Natsu's body, wasn't saying a word. The pink haired boy let out a breath and looked down at her face, searching for any signs of fear it may contain.

He found none. All he saw was shock. Her eyes were bulging wide and her body was stiff.

"You okay?" He asked quietly.

"You saved my life." She replied, voice equally soft.

"What, you mean this isn't what usually happens at these royal dances?" He joked with a gentle grin, feeling victorious when a small smile crept across her lips in return.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hey guys! It's been a bit longer than usual, but there you go! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Personally, this one was a little tough for me to write and since I had to knock out bits and pieces of it whenever I got a chance to over the past couple weeks, I'm a little worried that it may have seemed inconsistent or choppy. A part of that (especially at the beginning of the chapter) was definitely on purpose. Even Lucy calls Natsu out on the fact that he's sending a bunch of mixed signals. And he is. At that point Natsu isn't quite sure what to think of Lucy, but he does pretty much figure it out by the end of the chapter.**

 **AND OH MY GOSH SOMEONE TRIED TO KILL LUCY!**

 **You know I really wasn't planning on doing the assassination attempt until later on, but honestly I just noticed that I had typed around 6,000 words of Nalu stuff and decided to end this chapter with a little more zest. I know some of the emotional conversations may have seemed over the top, but they're necessary in order for two such different people to form any sort of a workable relationship.**

 **Sorry if Natsu seems OOC to you. Yeah, he's supposed to be. I mean anytime a character's past is changed and that character grows up under far different circumstances, he/she is never the same. Imagine a Natsu who doesn't have his Fairy Tail Family for love and support after his father leaves him. I think he would act a little closer to the Natsu in my story, rough and a little bitter, but still fiery and fiercely protective over what he cares about. You'll probably see him become more Natsuish as chapters progress.**

 **Anyways, since it's been a while since I've posted a chapter, I'm in the mood to write a really long Author's note, so props to you if you actually make it through this whole thing. I just wanted to share with those of you who cares a few thoughts that have been dominating my mind these days. Oh, and when I say random, I mean RANDOM.**

 **RANDOM THOUGHTS**

 **1\. Acid Base Chemistry is the worst thing ever invented. Nuff said.**

 **2\. A friend was telling me about how it was "Love Yourself" week in her dormitory earlier this month and the first day of the week was declared "No Mirror Monday" in which the mirrors in her community bathrooms were covered so that the girls couldn't see their reflections. Am I the only one this makes zero sense to? I mean isn't the whole point of loving yourself to have enough confidence to appreciate yourself for who you are? Covering up the mirror, to me, feels like admitting our self-deprecation in order to forget about our ultimate shame for a little while. I'm not trying to argue that enjoying one's looks are the end all be all of self-appreciation, but covering up the mirror is definitely not going to help in that regard. Of course, this irony was only highlighted by the theme of the following day being "Take a Selfie Tuesday".**

 **3\. I'm finally starting to understand why people like politics. This is the first year that I've actually been involved in following presidential campaigns and have actually found a candidate who I identify with and support. Like seriously, I've been following caucuses and primaries, reading extensive news articles and have discovered that political SNL skits become infinitely more hilarious when you actually understand the inside jokes.**

 **4\. My favorite pen ran out of ink today. You have no idea how devastated I am. My handwriting was practically calligraphy with that pen. Whenever I didn't want to take notes in class, I would allow myself to break out The Pen and I would instantly take the best notes ever written. It's not just about the ink, it's about the confidence. I'm going to miss that pen. May it rest in peace.**

 **As always, thank you so much for reading and reviewing. You guys are awesome.**


	7. Chapter 7: The Heart is a Fried Pickle

Chapter 7

The Heart is but a Fried Pickle

As the dull hum of extraneous conversation buzzed around her, the previous sequence of events flurried past Lucy's subdued conciseness quickly and in flashes, her glazed over eyes not seeing the present as her mind remained locked on the past.

She was dancing with Natsu. He was getting so close to her.

And then he tackled her to the ground, saving her from certain death.

She remembered the lethal arrow burying itself into the ground after missing its target.

Natsu had yelled something at the guards.

The scenery changed from dark, cool, and peaceful, to bright, hot, and urgent as she was rushed inside the castle by a new set of servants.

She remembered insisting that Natsu remain by her side.

He insisted the same.

She was now sitting on a couch in the heart of Fiore Castle, the royal family's chambers, in the parlor of her parent's living area. Even though Natsu was sitting not too far too her right, she still felt stiff and suffocated beneath a tension suspended in the air so thick not even a knife could cut it. Her father paced back and forth with his meaty arms crossed, his face scrunched up with intense anger and concentration.

"The castle is all clear, your highness." A particularly authoritative castle guard articulated to the King with his back straight and hands clasped behind his back. "The suspect is nowhere inside the castle."

"Then search outside of it!" The King demanded, taking out his anger on the messenger. "Gather patrols and search all of Crocus if you must. That would-be assassin can't have made it far. I do not want anyone to rest until the bastard who tried to kill my daughter is captured and hanged for his treason!"

Lucy's ears only managed to hear every other word her father spoke. His deep and vengeful roar was more than enough to scare Lucy back into her own thoughts.

Who tried to kill her? And why? Fiore was in a period of unprecedented peace. It made no sense for someone to retaliate against the crown in such a manner. Of course, being in such a position of power, there are always crazies who wish to see the world burn, but those sort of criminals never make it past the front gates. Whoever broke into the castle was skillful and must have a solid purpose. An even more frightening thought was the notion that someone _inside_ the castle could be the perpetrator. Shaking off that sickening thought, Lucy returned to her state of vacant stupor.

"You were with my daughter when this happened, no?" Now that the guard has left the room, King Jude turned his attention to Natsu, who was still taking in his surroundings with curious eyes.

"Yeah." Natsu nodded and then quickly amended his statement when he remembered who he was talking to. "I mean, yes, your highness."

"What did you see?" He snapped.

"Not much. I only saw a dark silhouette of a person in the window. He disappeared pretty quickly after he fired the arrow."

"And you were the one who saved my daughter's life?" He asked, his tone softening slightly.

"Yes, sir."

"Then you have my deepest thanks along with the gratitude of the entire kingdom. You will be repaid handsomely for your services."

"That's really not necessary." Natsu said quickly. He wasn't sure what the King meant by 'being repaid handsomely', but he did know that he wasn't ready to be bombarded with excessive thank you presents. "I only did what anyone would have done."

The King merely nodded before another knock was heard on the door. A servant waiting by the entrance opened it, revealing a very flustered looking redhead at the threshold.

Lucy perked up slightly upon seeing that it was Erza.

"Your majesty." She quickly bowed to the King before rushing over to kneel at Lucy's side, her blue eyes thick with stress and worry. "Princess Lucy, I was informed what happened. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She murmured, heart still beating far too fast for someone who was sitting so still.

"What is the state of the Ball?" King Jude asked the Coronal Contests Coordinator. Erza stood up to speak to him directly.

"The guests do not know of the assassination attempt. They were only told that they were not allowed to leave the Grand Hall as the Castle Guard came through and searched the hall thoroughly. All the guests are still there now."

"You may dismiss them." The King said with a nod. "We will keep what happened under wraps for now. In the mean time we cannot be distracted from the search by our guests."

"Of course, your majesty." Erza nodded, but then hesitated as she tried to figure out what to say without appearing as though she was refusing to follow orders. "The only problem is that Princess Lucy has not yet announced the ten men that will continue onto the second stage of the contests."

"Seriously?" Natsu spoke up. "Lucy almost dies and you still want to go through with the Contests?"

Both Jude and Erza shot a glare at the boy, warning him that this was not his place to speak. He sighed and leaned back on the couch in perturbed silence.

"I do not expect Lucy to make such a decision under the circumstances." The King stated firmly. Erza agreed with an apologetic nod and was about to leave the room before Lucy spoke up.

"Wait." She said, a little more strength filling her voice. "If we send all of the guests away before I make my decision then they will be even more certain that something is wrong. Not to mention the satisfaction it would give the person who tried to harm me if I were to hide in my room instead of following through with my duties. I'll make the announcement. That is what everyone came here for and I intend to deliver."

"You should not feel obligated to do this." Her father warned gently.

"I do." Lucy replied. She glanced to the side at Natsu. Seeing the support and prided in his large eyes gave her all the strength she needed to follow through on her words. She stood up and straightened out the ruffles in her bright red dress. "And I'll do it immediately."

"Very well." Her father nodded. "But I'm sending you out with top level protection."

"I understand."

With that, the King left the room to organize his guards.

"Come, your highness." Erza said to Lucy in excitement that the whole night wasn't going to be for naught after all. "I must update your makeup before you make the announcement."

"Perfect, thank you Erza." Lucy said. "But may I have a moment alone with Natsu first? I wish to thank him properly."

Erza looked from Lucy to Natsu and then back to Lucy, wearing a pleased smile as her eyes lit up with realization. She winked at the princess knowingly.

"Of course." She said. "I'll be waiting for you across the hall in your bed chambers."

The redhead hurried out of the room, tossing glances over her shoulder at the pair of teens she was leaving along as she went. Natsu stood up to stand in front of Lucy.

"You already thanked me, you know." He said with a smile, hands shoved into his pockets.

"I wanted to do it again." She said, feeling warmth spread across her cheeks and butterflies dance in her stomach.

"I meant what I said to your father." He said before she had a chance to thank him again. "It's no big deal. I would have done it for anyone."

"Oh. I see." Lucy whispered, feeling deflated for some reason. He would have done it for anyone. Of course he would have, that's just the sort of person he was…

"But dancing in the courtyard of castle with a princess?" Natsu continued with a sly smile. "That's something I would only do for one person."

Just like that, all of Lucy's light fluttery feelings were back in play, making her feel like she was on cloud nine. She couldn't help but smile a smile that was so genuine and natural that she completely forgot that someone out there wanted to kill her. Especially after what he did for her tonight, Natsu made her feel safe.

"Is that person your sister?" Lucy said with a teasing tone meant to cover up her more transparent reasons for asking the question.

"Not even Wendy could get me to dance."

Lucy's heart soared.

"Does that mean you are sticking around for the Coronal Contests?"

"I dunno." Natsu replied with a playful shrug. "Only the Princess's favorite ten guys make it through. Who knows if I'll make the cut?"

"I think I have an idea." Lucy giggled.

"You sure you're okay?" Natsu asked, searching Lucy for any cracks in her calm facade.

"I'm sure."

"I'll see you around then." He said. Before he turned to leave, he hovered in his place for a moment as if he were unsure what to do upon parting. Lucy found herself wishing that he would finish what he started earlier and kiss her, make her feel like it was all going to be okay, but to her disappointment, that didn't happen. He flashed her one final smile and left her alone in the room.

Lucy let out a sigh, ran her fingers through her golden hair, and composed herself in preparation for what was sure to be a bombardment of questions from Erza. In the back of her mind she quickly ran through the list of ten names that she would soon need to call out.

Despite the recent turn of events, she was ready to move on into the future, a future that still managed to seem awfully bright.

XXX

Stomach growling, Natsu shouldered himself through the hordes of anxious people, all grouped together in mobs, chattering quickly about what was going on and where the princess was with her decision.

The guards that had come through to search the crowd had left and the Grand hall was on lock down with strict measures of who could come and go as the search for Lucy's almost assassin continued through the castle and into the surrounding city of Crocus. Natsu wanted more than anything to search for that person himself, but he needed to wait with the others for Lucy's decision and regardless, he didn't manage to catch a whiff of the archer so tracking him would be near impossible.

In the meantime, he was eagerly making his way through the crowd to finally reach the food table still filled with exotic and tantalizing scents that seemed to flood over the room like the thickest fog. Upon finally reaching his destination, his mouth began to water. The spread of food was simply incredible. There were meats and cheeses stabbed onto tiny skewers, bowls of fruit, meatballs, fancy crackers, mini quiches, and a colorful array of other elegant appetizers that Natsu could not possibly know the names of. Licking his lips, he dived first towards the meatballs, already able to feel the barbecued warmth slip down his throat and into his ravenous belly.

Nabbing a handful of tooth picks, Natsu hovered with glee over the pot of meatballs, skewering each one and popping them into his mouth until they were all gone. Soaring with happiness, he cruised over to the cheeses and then to the mini-sandwiches that were so small he could (and did) eat three at a time. He made his way down the table until he saw it. With a golden brown crust of crumbling crispy breading over an inside layer of bright green, the ultimate appetizer caught Natsu's eye and instantly excited his taste buds.

Fried pickles.

Natsu could not believe his eyes. Fried pickles. He had no idea that such a thing even existed, let alone that he'd find it here. Slowly, almost as if he were in a trance, he moved forward to the lonely bite of food sitting alone on the porcelain dish.

There was only one left. And he was destined to take it.

He reached his hand out slowly, fingers outstretched as they grew closer and closer to the expertly fried pickle, eyes sparkling with the sheer joy he was about to consume.

And then someone reached out and grabbed the final pickle before he was able to.

"What the hell man? That's mine!" He shouted out instantly, feeling as though the arrow from earlier had pierced through _his_ heart.

"Sorry." The thief shrugged. "You snooze you lose."

The person who had grabbed the precious fried pickle right from under his nose was about his own age and height except he had black hair and dark blue eyes. With a smug, insouciant expression and a positively bored posture to match, Natsu hated this guy already.

"Give it back, jerk." The pink haired boy spat out, crossing his arms, unwilling to stand down.

"Chill, man." The thief said. "It's only a pickle."

"If that's true then you'll have no problem giving it back." Natsu challenged, watching the delicacy carefully to make sure that this bastard didn't pop it into his mouth before he had a chance to retaliate. The thief hesitated, glanced from the fried pickle and then back to Natsu, smirking in defeat. It wasn't _just_ a pickle.

"You have any idea who you're talking to, pinky?"

"You could be a prince or a pauper, it doesn't matter to me." Natsu took a step forward. "I just want the pickle."

"The name's Gray." The dark haired boy replied, tilting his head with a smirk. "And you're right. It doesn't matter who I am. All you need to know is that I'm not giving up this pickle either."

"I'm Natsu. And it looks like we have a problem then."

"I can fix that." Gray said.

He quickly raised his arm, moving the fried pickle closer towards his open mouth. Natsu reacted with crazy fast reflexes, reaching out with his own hand. He slapped his hand against Gray's wrist just in time. The contact caused Gray to lose his grip in the pickle, sending the fried goodness flying high into the air.

"You idiot!" Gray shouted.

"You snooze you lose." Natsu chanted back.

Natsu lunged forward to catch the pickle before it hit the ground, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Gray surging forwards for the falling appetizer as well. Both of their claw-like hands reached out simultaneously, stretching out as far as they could manage.

But neither were fast enough.

The pickle hit the floor.

"Now look what you've done!" Gray roared in frustration, pulling on his hair as he watched the precious sliver of food be contaminated by the floor.

"What's the big deal?" Natsu shrugged. He picked the pickle up of the floor and tossed it into his mouth, crunching on the crispy, savory outside before his teeth sunk into the bitter-sweet tang of the interior pickle. "Damn that was good." He said as he swallowed the last of the appetizer.

"You ate it off the floor?" Gray deadpanned in confusion.

"Hell yeah." Natsu said. "Food's still food no matter where it comes from."

"Interesting."

Natsu laughed.

"Jeez, let me guess. You _are_ a prince. Probably can't eat anything unless it comes from at least a ten thousand jewel plate."

"Shut up." Gray shot back. "You're the disgusting one."

"And you're the one who lost."

"Perhaps." He said thoughtfully. Then, he grabbed one of the mini-quiches off of the table and dropped it onto the ground, letting it rest there for a few seconds until he bent down, picked it up, and ate it. He chewed for a few moments before swallowing. He nodded his head. "It tastes the same."

"Told you." Natsu said in a harsh tone, yet he felt some sort of begrudging respect form inside of him for the other boy. Yet again he had met another noble that took him by surprise. Interesting.

"You're still an idiot." Gray said.

"And you're still a pickle-stealing asshole."

They shot dagger-like glares at each other for a few more moments, although there was a little less intensity behind them. Their standoff was broken by the trumpeting of horns that announced the arrival of the princess to the Grand Hall. She walked in through the main doors flanked by the most intimidating guards, an aisle parting for her in the crowd easily that led up to the main stage at the head of the room.

The room hushed over in silence and all attention was turned towards the lovely blond princess who had changed into a golden ball gown that accentuated the brightest highlights of her hair and made her eyes seem like an even warmer chocolate. Only once it was so deathly silent, that you could hear a pen drop from anywhere inside the room, did she speak.

"I would first like to thank everyone who attended tonight. The journey I am embarking on could not be done without your support and participation. It saddens me that I may only allow ten fine men to proceed to the next round of the Coronal Contests, but it is assuredly the best path I may take to find a husband and King suitable to our kingdom." She took a deep breath to collect herself, straightening her posture even more than before to deliver the news that everyone was hanging onto so desperately for. "The ten men I am selecting to advance to stage two are… Natsu Dragneel…"

Natsu let a smirk spread across his face as he heard his name called and felt Lucy's eyes settle on him immediately. He winked at her, but still didn't manage to crack a smile onto her very serious and businesslike demeanor.

"She picked you?!" Gray said in surprise from beside him with an oblivious stare. Natsu nodded, feeling more smug than ever before on his double victory.

"Prince Gray Fullbuster of Minstrel," Lucy called out next. Gray laughed and adopted a smug expression of his own.

"She picked you?!" Natsu shouted. There wasn't any time for Gray to say something back, however, because the crowd had grown silent again for the next names.

"Loke Regulus… General Laxus Dreyer of Fiore… Prince Jet Shadowgear of Bosco… Prince Droy Shadowgear of Bosco…"

Natsu looked around and saw the golden brown haired guy Lucy had been dancing with earlier upon his arrival smile confidently. Similarly, he saw some important looking people pat an even more important looking bulky tall blonde guy on the back at the front of the crowd. The expression of said blonde guy remained emotionless.

"Sir Gajeel Redfox Black Steel…"

The pink haired boy scoffed at that name. Black Steel had to be some sort of nick name, but the real question was why the heck would Lucy pick someone who had earned "Black Steel" as a moniker?

"Elfman Strauss…"

Natsu was beginning to lose interest upon hearing a bunch of names he didn't recognize. He was about to tune out completely before he heard the impossible.

"Gentleman Sting Eucliffe… and Gentleman Rogue Eucliffe."

"WHAT?" Natsu exclaimed out loud, a horrified look of sheer disbelief etched across his face as if his worst nightmare was coming to fruition.

 _How could Lucy pick_ them _?_ He thought she was a reasonable person. He thought she was pretty smart for a princess! _They had to have tricked her. They must have pretended to be decent people to get on her good side._

His whole body was itching with anger as he swung his head around looking for where his dear stepbrothers stood in the crowd. He wanted to give them a piece of his mind for manipulating Lucy.

"What's got your panties in a wad?" Gray asked him with a judgmental raised eyebrow at the pink haired boy's reaction.

"Sting and Rogue-" Natsu began to voice his inner rant, before a blood chilling thought hit him that he, of course, hadn't considered before.

Lucy picking him to go onto the next round had not been part of the plan. He was supposed to come and go without anyone, namely his step family, to realize that he was here. But just now, his name was announced to a crowd of thousands of people. That meant Sting and Rogue knew that he was here, and now that the Ball was officially over, they were assuredly already on their way home to rat him out to their mother.

Eldia was not going to be happy with him.

"I gotta go." Natsu said quietly, not hesitating to start running for the door without hearing Lucy's words of parting to the rest of the crowd. He would see her again soon. For now, he needed to get home before Elida got the chance to take out her displeasure on Wendy.

"Whatever." Gray shrugged. But Natsu didn't hear him. He was already well on his way.

XXX

It took him a solid half hour longer to get back to the ranch than it did on his trip to the castle. The stables were crowded with horses and carriages being prepared for trips home and he was definitely not on the priority list for speedy departures. Regardless, he rode Presley home hard and was not at all surprised when he saw that the carriage Sting and Rogue took to the Ball was parked in the driveway like an ominous symbol of his impending doom.

He took his horse the barn and deposited her quickly into her stall with a grateful pat on the nose.

"I'll be back later to fill up your water for the night. I just got to go settle things inside first. Wish me luck."

Presley grunted and Natsu headed out.

Bounding up the stairs to the front porch that surrounded the ranch house, Natsu prepared himself for the worst, however, what he was not prepared for was the front door opening before he could place a hand on the knob.

Eldia stepped outside, haunting and stern, her mouth a thin sharp line painted across her pale complexion. The door slammed shut loudly behind her, leaving them alone to speak.

"Sup." Natsu said, trying to act nonchalant, but his heart wasn't really in it. He waited for her to satisfy herself with a long enough death glare before she actually spoke.

"You disobeyed me." She said finally.

"Well technically you never forbade me from going."

"I made my intentions clear."

"Not clear enough, I guess." Natsu shot back, biting hard on his lower lip. Eldia had a way of getting under his skin.

"How did you clean the pig stall and escape from the barn?"

"Practice." He spoke the single word with a challenging defiance, tasting a trickle of blood in his mouth.

Eldia examined him closely, looking straight through him and his lie like he were transparent. It was unnerving. He flicked his tongue around the traces of iron in his mouth and swallowed it.

"The more interesting question is how you managed to get the Princess to choose _you_."

"She also chose your two sons. She must not be the best judge of character."

Eldia slapped him across the face, leaving a stinging red mark on his cheek.

"Idiot boy. You know better than to speak of my son's like that."

"I guess I don't know better." Natsu growled. He was sick and tired of laying back and taking her abuse. Most days he could shove down his frustration and go along with her tyranny, but today he was _angry_. He was angry that Sting and Rogue were manipulating Lucy. He was angry that he was being reprimanded for doing nothing wrong. And he was absolutely livid that someone tried to kill Lucy earlier and got away scotch free. "Your two sons are a pair of bastards and Lucy will see through whatever act they are putting up around her. She would never marry either of them. Especially once I tell her about all the shit they've done over the past eleven years."

He fully expected another slap to rattle across his face, but strangely, it never came. Eldia only narrowed her already snake-like black eyes.

"Are you threatening my sons?" She asked him coldly. "Because if you are then you would be even stupider than you have already proven to be. If you are threatening my sons, then I have no choice but to threaten you as well."

"I'm not scared of you."

"And that is precisely the problem." Eldia replied calmly before a positively evil grin stretched across her bony cheeks. "I know your secret. You and your precious little sister are wizards."

"That's crazy." Natsu stammered out, feeling a wrecking ball smash against his heart, stopping it from beating with a heavy jolt. He had guessed that Eldia knew, but knowing for certain, hearing her speak the words out loud, was like a nightmare come to life.

"Don't try to deny it." She snapped. "Igneel told me all about his illegal magic lessons with his children. He trusted me, remember? He loved me. More than he ever loved you."

"THAT ISN'T TRUE." Natsu roared. Eldia had flipped a switch inside of him, causing him for the first time in a long time to actually let the anger than burned inside of him out. Fire exploded from Natsu's hands, flames lapping and boiling around his arms like infernos of hate, ready to finally unleash their power. Eldia's eyes widened in surprise as she stared at the bright red flames emanating from the boy, light and shadows of the dancing flames highlighting the sharp contours of her bone structure.

"Fascinating." She whispered. "Just like Igneel's."

"NEVER SPEAK ABOUT MY FATHER." Natsu shouted, the flams lining his arms only intensifying. "You don't serve to. You are just a sick, twisted old woman with a greedy thirst for power. And if you really do recognize these flames, then it's YOU who should be scared. I could incinerate you to a pile of ashes right now!"

"And then I would be dead and my sons would know what you did." Eldia replied simply, not fazed by the dragon slayer's wrath. "Not only would they turn you in for being a wizard, but you would also be executed for murder. And then what would happen to your dear sweet sister?"

Natsu grit his teeth and ground them together in a helpless anger. She was right. She was _always_ right.

"Don't you see?" She said. "You have no power over me, nothing to threaten me with. I am the one who controls you. For many years you have only been an unprofitable burden, but now that you've positioned yourself close to the princess, you may be of some use to me."

Natsu let his flames go out in defeat with his shoulders slumped and his features falling into a state of despair.

"You will not speak ill of Sting and Rogue to the Princess. You will not even mention that you live with them. You will get closer to Lucy and advance in the contests, encouraging her to keep Sting and Rogue around as well. Only when her final decision comes between you and my sons will you drop out of the contest and break her heart, allowing either Sting or Rogue to become King. If you do not do as I ask, then I will expose your secret and Wendy's to the world and you will never see the light of day again."

Closing his eyes for a moment, Natsu cursed himself for his idiocy. He should have never gone to the Ball. He should have never gotten attached to Lucy and he should have never allowed her to get attached to him. Everything was suddenly a thousand times worse than before. He either had to break Lucy's heart or essentially send Wendy to prison. There was no other way out. There was only one choice to make.

"I'll do it." He said through gritted teeth.

"That's what I thought." His stepmother purred with amusement.

"But I have one condition." He said, lifting his head to look at her straight in the eyes. "If I succeed and either Sting or Rogue get married to Lucy, then you have to let Wendy go free."

Eldia considered this for a moment, noting that he gave no request of his own freedom.

"Very well." She said with one finally victorious smirk before disappearing back inside the ranch house, leaving a very distraught Natsu alone in the dark.

 _I'm sorry, Lucy._ He said inside his head, picturing the crushed and devastated look that would appear on her gorgeous face when he would inevitably break her heart. _But I don't have any other choice._

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:  
**

 **Sup! Alright I'm going to keep this brief, so I'll just make a few comments.**

 **\- Gray and Natsu met! Yay, I'm so excited because I love them together.**

 **\- Fried Pickles sound gross but are actually incredible. True story.**

 **\- Some of the characters that we haven't seen yet, but Lucy picked, I didn't know the last names of so I had to fill in the blanks myself. If I made any spelling errors, or mishaps just let me know. It'll be much appreciated.**

 **\- What'd you think of Natsu's "deal" with Eldia? I only say deal, because if he follows through, then at least Wendy will get something out of it.**

 **-Thank you all for reading and reviewing. These days you all are quite literally my inspiration to continue this story.**


	8. Chapter 8: A Little Unsteady

Chapter 8

A Little Unsteady

Laxus Dreyer was a strict man.

He believed in punctuality, order. He demanded the best of others and expected no less of himself. The Law was the Law. Made by the Monarchs of years past, crafted to protect the citizens of Fiore, the Law defined the land, not the other way around. But most of all, the Law was made to be upheld. Chaos, destruction and anarchy would undoubtedly follow any deviation from the Law and he had lived enough years to know that these deviations did occur despite his constant efforts to keep his Kingdom pure. Criminals who broke the Law were a certainty.

A criminal who broke the Law was the reason he had grown up without his parents.

And so, Laxus had joined the Fiore military. Composed of regular soldiers and more exalted Knights, the military was the symbol of stability and order that his beloved country so desperately needed in the magic-torn reality of the present day. It was a power-drunken rogue wizard who struck down his parents all those years ago and it was the same selfish mystical miscreants that tormented the nation today with their ethernano-born virus that extended as far as to ail the Queen at the very heart of Fiore.

Resolute and unwavering in his beliefs, Laxus had risen through the ranks of the military with frightening speed, gaining respect for his strategic genius and unmatched work ethic entirely separate from the innate acknowledgment he was given at his birth. Today, at the young age of 25, he stood as the Chief Commanding General of the Fiore Military. No one would dare claim that he obtained the position through anything else than hard-earned merit, but if they did, it would most likely be because of his grandfather, Makarov Dreyer, Head Advisor to the King.

Makarov, despite his short stature and graying beard, was one of the most respected men in the Kingdom. Having served King Jude and his father before him, the Dreyer name was cemented in its legacy of proximity to the Heartfilia's. Laxus, however, had not dwelled in his grandfather's shadow, but had risen beyond it, taking the respect his family had earned to the next level.

There was nothing more important to the young general than Fiore. It was his responsibility to protect his country and he firmly believed that there was only one way to secure safety for every law-abiding citizen in his home.

Order.

Unfortunately, order could not be exclusively seen in the steel of a Knight's sword or a document being signed into Law. As with everything, order had a dark side, a harsh reality that was his responsibility to suppress from the ordinary eye.

Boots clapping loudly on the chilled stone as he descended down a narrow staircase, Laxus departed from the airy light of Fiore castle into the murky depths of its dungeons.

The only light guiding his path came from sparsely located candles lining the dark walls, pockets of orange luminescence making the distant shadows seem even blacker and deeper. Nodding slightly to a watchful guard, Laxus continued on a path he had not yet had a reason to travel. This part of the dungeons hadn't been used in years, but current circumstances mandated it to resume its purpose.

The air was thick and cold, raising goosebumps on his skin and causing his muscles to shiver beneath the heavy fabric of his formal attire. He clamped his teeth shut, allowing his features to become even more solemn than before.

The blinding light of a lantern peeked through the blanket of darkness at the end of the dungeon corridor he was navigating. It was a temporary but bright light, not belonging in the shadows of such a desolate place.

Holding the lantern was an old man of short stature that he immediately recognized as his grandfather.

"Laxus, my boy." He said with a wry smile upon sight of his grandson. "It's about time you arrived. Waiting this long in the cold could cause an old man like me to wither away to nothingness."

"I apologize. You're summoning caught me off guard. I was preparing for the Contestants' Dinner tonight."

"Ah yes, I almost forgot about that. Should be starting soon, no?"

"In twenty minutes."

"Not to worry, this shouldn't take long." Makarov replied. His features hardened and the wrinkles on his face become deeper and more defined. His attention turned to the cell they were standing in front of. The cell at the very end of the corridor. The cell located in the deepest part of the dungeons. The cell belonging to the most dangerous man they held in captivity- a wizard. An extremely powerful wizard.

"What exactly is _this_?"

"The prisoner has made a request." The aging advisor said warily, eyeing the brooding man crouched in the corner of the tiny, bleak cell. His broad shoulders created a mighty frame that was filled out to its entirety with meaty bulk and bulging muscles. His light skin was tarnished with sheets of mud and grime, caked onto his entire exterior and sealed there with an abundance of greasy sweat that singled the man had not bathed in quite some time. Laxus wrinkled his nose. The man's smell also made that fact abundantly clear.

Around the prisoner's wrists were an unusually bulky and metallic-looking pair of handcuffs designed by the kingdom's most brilliant scientists to prevent their wearers from harnessing any magical power. And so, the once powerful mage was reduced to a powerless heap of muscle in dull gray rags of the incarcerated.

"He was apprehended by my men only days ago." The blonde general said to his grandfather, examining the prisoner closely. He spoke these words confidently, but everyone present knew the truth: no non-magic user in the country had the means or power to apprehend such a powerful wizard. The S-Class criminal in custody had offered no fight when a search patrol finally tracked down the infamous mage. "Surely he is not already in need of anything so grave that it requires our presence."

Upon closer inspection, unease settled upon Laxus' demeanor like a dark gray cloud. The wariness on the man's face and his unkempt appearance were both characteristics he was all too accustomed to seeing in long term prisoners. The dirt on the man's face and the grease discoloring his matted strands of auburn did not trouble the General. No, it was the look it the man's eyes that was most disconcerting. Those almond shaped orbs, appearing a colorless black in the lightless shadows, held purpose. A concentrated purpose. It was not uncommon to see fresh captives hold a sense of hope or mild defiance in their eyes, but this was different. No prisoner facing a life sentence _ever_ held a sense of purpose in his eyes.

Until now.

"It is not my preference to listen to the whims of the imprisoned either, but apparently this man has been harassing the guards every time they come by his cell."

"About being released, I presume?"

"Not at all." Makarov replied with a stiff shake of the head. "Rather, all he requests is the opportunity to speak to someone."

"Who?" Laxus replied, stifling his surprise.

"Natsu Dragneel. One of the participants in the Coronal Contests."

Laxus narrowed his eyes. He remembered the name. Dragneel was the one that was with Princess Lucy when the assassination attempt was made on her life.

"Why?"

"He won't say."

"Of course." Laxus replied, rolling his eyes.

"Normally I wouldn't think much of this, but considering the danger the prisoner imposes and the already controversial nature of the contests, I thought it best if we deal with this personally."

"I agree." The general nodded, crossing his strong arms over his chest. "Where should we begin?"

"Well you could start by asking me a question." For the first time, the prisoner spoke. His voice was deep and raspy, but containing hints of boredom and impatience as well. "Or you could just go on talking as if I wasn't here. That'd be fine too."

Although there was no way to measure it, Laxus' blood pressure undoubtedly spiked at the prisoner's disrespectful and sarcastic quip. He showed no outward sign of annoyance, however, and retained his composure like a seasoned veteran.

"Very well." He said. "Why do you wish to speak with Natsu Dragneel?"

"There's something I need to tell him."

Laxus swallowed. He should have known better than to expect anything but a vague, generalized response.

"Not good enough." He replied smoothly. "However, even if you had given me an appropriate reason, I'm afraid I would have to deny your request. You are an S-Class criminal and will never again speak to another soul not directly involved in what I can assure you will be a _permanent_ imprisonment."

The prisoner scowled but had no words to reply with. Laxus turned to his grandfather.

"Let's go. We aren't going to get anything out of him that we don't already know. It doesn't serve anyone to negotiate with criminals. We will investigate any relations he may have with Dragneel starting tomorrow."

"Perhaps a civil conversation with the man would save a good deal of time." Makarov said wisely, clasping his hands behind his back.

"Grandfather. This man is a wizard. He is powerful, dangerous, and carries no remorse for his sins. Imagine how many lives he has taken by contaminating the world with his magic. He is not the sort of person who can be reasoned with and certainly not the sort of person whose word can be trusted."

"And you've gleaned all that from a two minute conversation?"

"No conversation was necessary. As the head of law enforcement in Fiore, this is my decision. This man will remain here to serve his penance while I investigate the reason behind his request."

"Very well." Makarov dipped his head not in agreeance, but understanding acquiescence. "Let us get out of the dark, then."

With that, the two men sharing a last name turned to navigate the winding corridors of the dungeon back to the top where they could return to the world of the light. Just before they were out of the earshot, however, the prisoner called out to them.

"Just tell him that I'm here, will yah?" He shouted out, desperation leaking out of his raspy shout. "Tell him that Gildarts Clive is being held prisoner by the Kingdom of Fiore!"

XXX

"It's going to be a nightmare." Lucy insisted, gasping softly as her torso was mercilessly constricted by the corset-a lovely shade of salmon pink embroidered with lace- Levy was currently tightening from behind her.

"You're freaked out over nothing, Lu." The blue haired girl laughed softly without taking her eyes off her work.

"It's not nothing. I'm going to be locked up in a room with _ten_ men who I might _marry."_

 _"_ Want to trade places?" Levy chirped, finishing the lacing on the corset as she stood back to admire the princess' regal albeit worried appearance.

"Not helpful!"

"There really is no need to worry." Erza, always the voice of reason, spoke from her seat in an armchair beside the younger girls. As usual she was dressed in a business like fashion and had her startling red hair tied back tightly into a high ponytail. "You aren't going to be _locked_ in the room and you won't be alone either. Not only am I attending the dinner, but your father and a few other distinguished guests will be there as well."

"The fact that my dad will be there makes it a million times worse." Lucy moaned, threatening to disrupt her perfectly sculpted up due that weaved her silky blond hair into a spiraling maze of braids, twists, and a countless number of hidden hair clips.

"Yeah no exaggeration there." Levy admitted. "Dads always make things awkward."

"Still not helping, Levy!" The princess said in good natured exasperation. She knew there wasn't too much else her friend could say, but still her heart was pounding much too fast and her entire body felt stiff with tension. Tonight was the Contestant's Dinner and that meant that the ten men she had chosen at the Ball were coming to the castle for a welcoming feast. They would all get to know each other better and the details of the first contest would be revealed. It seemed good in theory, but now that the dinner was here, Lucy found herself in a state of panic. How was she supposed to handle herself in a roomful of potential suitors? The Ball was one thing, but this was totally different- she had expressed some level of interest in everyone in attendance so there was sure to be awkwardness, jealousy, competition and an overall weirdness that the blonde was not eager to participate in. How was she supposed to act? What sort of things was she supposed to say? What was everyone expecting of her? What if she messed everything up and the night was a disaster?

Lucy started tugging anxiously on her hair. Upon seeing her long time best friend's nervous tick, Levy stepped in and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"How about you tell us more about the guys you picked?" The Lady-in-Waiting suggested. "It may help you focus on the good parts of tonight and not the bad."

"Excellent thought, Levy." Erza agreed. "I am also interested in what direction your heart is leaning."

"Alright but my heart isn't leaning any direction yet." Lucy warned. However, the moment those words came out of her mouth she knew they were a lie. Her heart was unmistakably moving in a particular direction indeed, but she was definitely too scared and embarrassed to let anyone know that just yet.

"Yay!" Levy cheered. "Let's hear it then."

"Okay well first there is Prince Jet and Prince Droy from Bosco."

"Oh I talked to them!" Levy commented. "They seemed really cool!"

"They were nice but… well I only chose them because we are allies with Bosco and it would have been horribly rude not to select their princes."

"Figures." The blue haired girl laughed. She was much too adorable. With a delicate hand covering her mouth and eyes squinted closed in amusement, she looked just like a little baby doll.

"I see." Erza said, scribbling down vicious scrawls of dark ink onto a sheet of paper in her infamous binder that seemed to grow exponentially each day.

"You don't have to write this down-" Lucy stammered, eyes wide with fear at the thought of her dating preferences being permanently transcribed in ink. In fact, that was pretty much what the entire notebook was. It was essentially an outsourced diary about Lucy's off-kilter love life.

"I must know _everything_ about these Contests! It's my responsibility to make sure everything goes precisely as you wish it, your highness."

"Yeah, but you don't have to… Oh never mind." Lucy said, brushing it off having become accustomed to Erza's antics. The whole kingdom was going to be closely examining her choices anyway, so a single notebook probably wasn't going to make too much of a difference. "Anyways, next there is Elfman Strauss. He's not from a particularly wealthy upbringing, but he was a pleasure to talk to and seemed genuine."

"Oh! He was the really big muscly one right? With the white hair?" Levy clapped her hands together in recognition.

"Yep." Lucy said before she pushed on through the list of names she spent a lot of brain power to formulate. "And then there is the other set of brothers- Sting and Rogue Eucliffe. Sting was very charming and smooth while Rogue is darker and more mysterious. I'd like to learn more about them."

Both of her friends were listening to her closely, searching her for the slightest twitch of a facial feature than may give away her feelings.

"Of course I also picked General Laxus Dreyer. This one was a no brainer. He's the Chief Commanding General of the Fiore Army and son of Makarov. It'd be a smart paring between us. Laxus would no doubt be a fantastic King."

"Not much of a sense of humor though." Levy said thoughtfully. "General Dreyer has always seemed really scary to me!"

Lucy laughed. Not because what Levy was saying wasn't true, but because the blue haired girl was being quite the hypocrite.

"I thought scary was your type, Levy." The princess said sneakily, unable to suppressed the devilish smirk that spread across her face. Immediately Levy's complexion flushed a bright cherry red and she hid her face in her hands in embarrassment.

"Lu!" She moaned, causing Lucy's laugh to only grow louder.

"Am I missing something here?" Erza asked, furiously whipping her head back and forth between the two younger girls, attempting to decipher what hidden knowledge was bouncing between them.

"You mind if I tell her?" Lucy asked her best friend. Levy gave a slight shake of her head to indicate her indifference, but still kept her face buried in the protective cup of her hands. The blonde turned to Erza and explained. "Levy has been crushing on one of Fiore's Knights for a while now. He was the most promising squire Fiore had seen in decades. He flew through his training and became an official Knight about a year ago. It wasn't long after that Levy went out riding in the woods. She got lost and was almost robbed by bandits until the same Knight swooped in and saved her. Levy's been daydreaming about him ever since."

"And who is this Knight you speak of?" Erza asked, interested at the prospect of a fledging love story.

"Sir Gajeel Redfox." Lucy replied with a soft smile.

"But he is one of the contestants you selected!"

"I know." Lucy laughed softly. "Between Gajeel's responsibilities as a Knight and Levy's… shyness, there hasn't really been a chance for them to get to know each other. I thought that if I selected Gajeel, he'd be around more often for Levy to make her move. It's not like Gajeel is interested in me. He is just ultra-competitive and wouldn't stay away any contest he was eligible for."

"Fascinating." Erza replied. "However, I must say I am unsure of your reasoning for many of your selections, Princess. It seems as though you are acting through responsibility and logic rather than your heart in determining your future husband."

Lucy shrugged but didn't comment further on the subject.

"Tell us about Prince Gray." Levy said, leaping back into the conversation once her face had returned to its ordinary creamy hue. "He seems like the catch of the whole Contest if you ask me."

"Gray is one of the most _real_ people I talked to during the Ball. He's very blunt but laid-back and cool as well. I'm looking forward to seeing him again. But with Gray comes Loke, his childhood best friend. Loke is a player, but if Gray sees something good in that guy, then I have to give him a shot."

"Very cool, Lu. You're going to be really happy with whoever you end up with after these Contests. I'm sure of it." Levy said happily.

"Thanks. I do hope so." Lucy sighed. She then sucked in a deep breath. "Well, I suppose we better be off to the dinner. I don't want to keep anyone waiting."

"You forgetting something?" Erza asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"Am I?" Lucy replied weakly.

"Natsu Dragneel. The tenth man you selected." Erza reminded her. "You conveniently left him out of the conversation."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about him! I never saw him at the Ball. What is he like?" Levy chirped up, excitement rekindling. Lucy's heart thudded as she searched through memories of the extensive vocabulary lessons she took in her youth for the appropriate sequence of words to describe Natsu. The only thing more difficult than Natsu to describe, was her feelings towards Natsu.

"Natsu is… unlike anyone else here." She said finally.

XXX

Natsu had a knack of judging someone's character just by looking into their eyes. Eyes, large or small, brown or blue, almond or round, were like these indisputable portals into the soul that not even the most skilled actor could hide. Even though Lucy was a rich princess, her pools of milk chocolate sparkled with the sun and were warm enough to melt ice. She had he flaws, but she was undeniably a good person. Eldia's eyes in contrast were small. Beady. Like two black bullets ready to sear through anyone that got in her way.

Sting's eyes were the same. Even though he was fortunate enough to get pretty blue orbs that helped him win over old ladies and young children (and apparently the Princess herself), Natsu could see the malice and pompous spite that hid behind a glassy surface clear as the sky.

And Natsu was getting a pretty good look at those portals of deception right now. Even though they stood far apart in opposing corners of a crowded room, both teenagers glared at each other with contempt. Natsu, eyes a piercing, fiery black, held back a hiss beneath gritted teeth while Sting returned the stare with his chin tilted slightly up in the air, eyelids half-closed over his blue weapons. Despite this Natsu could still see beneath them perfectly.

He really did hate that bastard.

Sting was the one to break the eye contact. Almost flippantly he turned away to talk to some other pompous "gentlemen" wearing tight suits. One of them was willowy and thin with a shock of orange hair tied back into a short ponytail while the other one was much chubbier and had tanner skin. Sting, with Rogue the ever present shadow at his side, began to schmooze the two young men who Natsu vaguely remembered as being princes. Ah well. That didn't really matter.

Natsu continued to sulk in the corner of the dining room by himself, angry fists shoved into the small pockets of his tight black dress pants. He didn't like the blinding yellow artificial light of the room, nor did he enjoy the sterile, tasteless smell of the air, or the intimidating presence of the long ovular table standing firmly as the focal point of the room. The farm boy was able to spy no less than seven forks and four different knives resting beside delicate china plates that he was sure to break at some point in the evening. He didn't want to come to this stupid dinner in the first place, but he was ensured that it was tradition for the Coronal Contests to have all the participants meet for a meal in the castle before the actual contests began. Natsu just wanted Lucy to get here already so he'd at least have something pretty to look at during what was sure to be a long and tedious evening.

"What you staring at?"

Natsu broke his burning eyes away from Sting's ugly profile to see that none other than _Prince_ Gray had approached him, looking about as enthusiastic about the dinner as Natsu did.

"Your face." Natsu shot back.

"That makes no sense." Gray said blandly, rolling his eyes.

"Your face makes no sense."

"Jeez, are you always this angry?"

Before Natsu got a chance to reply, however, someone new walked up to the pair.

Natsu immediately disliked him too.

"So what you ladies talking about?" He said in a growly, condescending voice that screamed superiority in every sense of the word. His shoulders were broad and his arms were blatantly muscular in the way that made his limbs look like a series of boulders superglued together. His hair was just as wild. Pitch black and cascading down his back in thick, lethal spikes, his hair style made the various metal facial piercings in his pale skinned face appear friendly. And his eyes were red. Slender, stabbing red.

"Who the hell are you?" Natsu asked, crossing his arms across his chest. Although Natsu's arms were lean, they were still muscular in their own right. His strength came from performing hard acts of physical labor out in the fields while Gajeel's boulders came from pure and simple weight training. Two different methods from two very different lifestyles. Natsu could tell from the garments Gajeel wore that he was a Fiore Knight. They were the only ones who would wear something as obnoxious and arrogant as a black and grey surcoat with the Fiore Coat of Arms emblazoned on the front.

" _Sir_ Gajeel Redfox." He said slowly, emphasizing the "Sir" so that neither boy would miss it. "But you can just call me Black Steel."

"I'll call you whatever I want, metal face." Natsu replied, unflinching and unimpressed by the title. He knew that he should probably cool down the insults, but he couldn't help it. Ever since his "chat" with Eldia the night of the Ball, he had been in a rotten mood. He was in a no win scenario. Either he succeeded in getting Lucy to pick Sting or Rogue as her husband, or he failed and Eldia would expose his secret to the world. Either way he would end up hurting Lucy. Either way things were going to suck for him. The only light at the end of the tunnel was that if Lucy did chose Sting or Rogue, then Wendy would be set free. That was the only thing that kept him going. It wasn't his fault that he had a bad attitude along the way.

"I'm sorry." Gajeel said, although his tone was definitely more patronizing than remorseful. "Did you think I was talking to you, _farm boy_? I was introducing myself to the _Prince_ of Minstrel."

Gray stared back at the arrogant Knight for a while, taking in his appearance slowly. Then Gray let out a sigh.

"Yeah I'm really not in the mood for this right now." He said. "If you want to power struggle, do it somewhere else. I'm just here for the food."

To Natsu's surprise, Gajeel smirked.

"Not bad, kid." He said, breaking his steely exterior with a hearty laugh. "You're not bad at all."

Maybe Natsu wasn't too good at reading people after all.

Nevertheless, the secret Dragon Slayer didn't like the way he was talked to and wasn't about to let that slide. He imagined Wendy's sweet voice asking him to not get into trouble. Too bad trouble followed Natsu around like a dog. Incessant, loud, and in constant need of attention.

"Well I _am_ in the mood." He said to Gajeel. He was a good five inches shorter than the beefier soldier, but he had a presence just as bright. "No one is going to get away with calling me a farm boy."

"Isn't that what you are?" The spiky haired man raised an eyebrow, as if he'd forgotten Natsu was there and was surprised that someone so small had spoken to him.

"You wanna find out?" Natsu said softly. His words were undeniably a challenge.

"You're not serious, kid?" Gajeel let out another raspy laugh. "I'm a Fiore Knight. You're from a backwater farm from nowhere. You don't know what you're getting into."

"Sounds like you're scared."

"Not a chance in hell. I never back down from a challenge. No matter who it comes from."

"Good." Natsu growled, raising his hands into fists. Gajeel responded by pushing up the sleeves of his tunic, smiling a crooked smile that revealed pointed canine teeth not unlike Natsu's own. Adrenaline pumped through his body, muscles loosening and tensing inside of him, reading to spring forward.

"Everything alright in here?!" A feminine voice shrilled through the commotion. The doors of the Dining Hall had sprung open and in through them hurried Princess Lucy, looking like the prettiest flower in her flowy pink dress. Her eyes were wide and cheeks slightly flustered, clearly distraught upon entering the room and seeing two contestants _already_ about to get in a fight with each other.

"Princess." Gajeel dropped his fists and bowed respectfully to young woman. "Everything's just dandy."

Natsu huffed, disappointment replacing the adrenaline. He crossed his arms once more in frustration.

"Natsu?" Lucy pressed. Her tone shifting as well. From concern to accusation.

"Metal face and I were just getting to know each other." He said. He meant to say those words in a flippant, justified sort of way, but the way that Lucy was looking at him made guilt commandeer his attitude. Her brown eyes were full of disappointment and skepticism. He hated her staring at him like that. Not looking at Gajeel he huffed out a quiet "sorry" that got Lucy to nod her head in approval.

Choosing to move on from the tension, Lucy raised her voice to address everyone who was still mingling around the dining table.

"Hello and welcome." She said. "Thank you all for coming tonight. Now, without any further delay, let us be seated to enjoy what I'm sure will be a fantastic meal."

Everyone besides Natsu clapped respectfully and followed Lucy's lead to seat themselves at the table in their appropriate name card identified seats.

"Well done." Gray whispered in Natsu's ear.

"Shut the hell up."

XXX

No less than two hours later, the final course (Raspberry Soufflé with a white chocolate cream sauce) had finally been eaten with plates cleared from the table thanks to a top notch waiting staff who wordlessly accommodated to the guests' every need throughout the night.

Although the food was delicious and Natsu's belly was rumbling with a satisfied joy, he still looked back on the whole dinner experience with ire. There had been _nine_ courses served and between each one there was a long period of waiting that was filled with either strained, polite conversion or awkward silence as attendants fumbled with their wine glasses.

Lucy was sitting at one end of the ovular table while her father- the King of Fiore- occupied the other end. Natsu couldn't deny being intimidated by him. He was a tall, broad man with a killer beard and a loud authoritative voice. He was often the one to fill silences as he directed his gaze around the table, asking different questions of those in attendance.

"So tell me, Prince Gray, how is the new trade agreement coming along between your father and King Jiro of Enca?"

Gray, having absolutely no clue, avoided the question with a vague answer about the weather. That however didn't deter the King.

"Prince Jet and Prince Droy, we were having a fascinating conversation about the border disputes to the East. Would you like to inform my daughter of your opinions on the matter?"

Lucy remained quiet for most of the evening. Except, of course, for when Sting spoke to her. He was fortunate enough to be sitting directly to the Princess's left and never stopped laying down the charm on her the entire dinner.

"You do look marvelous tonight, Princess Lucy?" He would say. "Would you like to hear about the Stag I hunted the other day, Princess Lucy?"

Every time, Lucy would reply with a smile and Sting would erupt into a charismatic tale about manly things such as hunting, business, or politics, causing nearly the whole table to hang onto every word of his fanciful tale.

Natsu, stuck in dinner party limbo in the middle of the table, remained quiet as well and did his best not to gag while Sting was speaking.

At one point Gray, who was seated on the Princess's right, shared a glance with Natsu and rolled his eyes. His message was clear.

 _This guy is full of shit._

That made Natsu significantly happier and allowed him to spend a little more time trying to decipher which fork he should use to eat a carrot and kale salad (course number 2).

Arriving late to the dinner was Laxus Dreyer, another tall muscular man who was participating in the competition. Natsu, however, knew who he was. The mighty blonde's reputation preceded himself. He was known for being a fair and capable General, the youngest ever to hold such a position. His dark eyes appeared stiff and troubled and Natsu could have sworn that they were watching him for a good deal of the evening.

The main course was some sort of fish. One of the servers announced what it was called but Natsu had no idea what language he was speaking when he said it. All he knew was that the fish's head was still attached to its body when served. Natsu didn't mind that, of course. He and Happy snuck off the farm to go fishing whenever Natsu was able to finish his chores early and he would eat the fish he caught all the time. The only problem was that Natsu had always been in a forest with a hunting knife when going about the process of removing a fish's head. He had no idea how to do it in this sort of setting. Everyone else seemed to know however, leaving Natsu staring at his fish, letting the savory smell waft up to his nose, tempting a hunger that the kale salad could not satisfy on its own.

"Use the third knife from your plate and the second to last fork." The person sitting beside him had hissed quietly from beneath the sing song noise of Sting's story telling voice. "First pull back the fins then cut between the head and collar bone."

"Wha?" Natsu echoed, surprised someone was talking to him, during one of Sting's stories no less.

Sitting beside him was a young woman probably not too much older than Lucy. She had smooth crimson hair and positively fierce blue eyes to contrast. He remembered her from after the assassination attempt on Lucy, but he never actually pinned down who she was. Still, she had entered the dining hall at the same time Lucy did so he assumed she was her friend or assistant. With royalty that sometimes meant the same thing.

"I can't watch you struggle anymore." She continued to whisper. "I'm trying to help you out so that you don't embarrass yourself any more than you have already."

"Oh. Hey thanks!" He smiled at her, picking up the correct utensils as he methodically followed her directions with extreme care. "These things should really come with instructions."

That was how he officially met Erza Scarlett, a proud young woman who he would later come to find out was the Coronal Contest Coordinator.

The dinner proceeded in that manner for two long and tedious hours. No one ever really addressed Natsu and he had learned it was probably best to keep his mouth shut for the moment. He didn't want to make things any more difficult for Lucy. He could tell from her posture and stiff smile that she was nervous and unsure of herself. Sometimes he would flash her an encouraging smile from across the table and she would return his grin with a lightened expression of her own. They shared little moments like this occasionally, but for the most part Natsu just hung back and allowed Erza direct him on which utensil to use and remind him to place his napkin in his lap (an utterly ridiculous practice).

He would also look around the table to see who his competition was. He was getting a good idea of all of the contestants' character- well expect for one. Natsu was pretty sure his name was Elfman. He was a well-built young man with messy white hair. Judging from his spot directly across the table from Natsu, the dragon slayer got the idea that Elfman was from a lower class family as well. Although better mannered, his hands were still calloused and his suit was slightly frayed on the sleeve. It made Natsu feel a certain kinship with him, but the young man made no move to speak during the dinner. He focused mostly on his food and had a glazed over look in his eye. Probably from nerves.

Tapping his foot, eager to get out of the cramped room, Natsu was pleased when Erza stood up to address the attendees at the conclusion of the meal.

"King Jude, Princess Lucy, distinguished guests, contestants, my name is Erza Scarlett and I will be serving as Coronal Contests Coordinator for the duration of the contests. If you have any concerns, trouble, or questions about the rules or proceedings of the events, please feel free to talk to me. I am here to make this an efficient and pleasurable experience for us all. Now with no further ado, it is my greatest joy to announce the official beginning of the Coronal Contests!"

There was a brief eruption of clapping around the table, but it only lasted for the bare minimum time that politeness allowed. Natsu probably wasn't the only one who wanted to leave.

"I'm sure you are all curious as to what nature of events the contests will hold." Erza said. "As confirmed by Princess Lucy, there will be three Contest events in total spread out over two months. In between that time, all contestants are welcome to reside within the castle and consort with Princess Lucy as she sees fit. Our long distance guests can assure you that no expense will be spared on your accommodations. Now for what you are all waiting for. The First Contest will be… a test of intelligence. The man who marries Lucy will share chief authority with her of an entire nation with a ultimate voice in matters of war and negotiations. It goes without saying that a King must be mentally prepared for the challenge of the throne. Further details will be discussed upon the start of the Contest which will be precisely one week from today. Until then, thank you all for attending."

Another polite round of applause filled the room. Natsu's stomach dropped. Why did it have to be intelligence of all things? He didn't even know how to spell _intelligence_. The First Contest was not going to go well for him.

Next Lucy stood up with a glass in her hand to address everyone.

"Thank you Erza." She said, nodding to the CCC. "And thank you all for such a wonderful dinner. I look forward to seeing all of you compete in the First Contest, but do not be concerned about the outcome of these contests. They are only in place to help me make the most informed decision I can about the next King of Fiore. No one will be immediately disqualified upon performing poorly. However, that does not mean I intend to be complacent. It is my goal to find the most suitable man as quickly as possible. I gave Erza the time frame of three contests in two months because I hope to make my decision by the end of the third contest. To save my time and yours, I will not hesitate to send anyone home if I know in my heart they are not the future King of Fiore. With that in mind, please do your best and I look forward to seeing you all again."

Everyone raised their glasses in a toast and then were dismissed from the table. Very agilely. Natsu sprung up, hurried over to Lucy, grabbed her wrist and pulled her off to the side where they could share a few brief words before being intruded upon.

"Great toast." He told her with a sneaky glint in his eyes. "You told everyone not to be concerned and then immediately told everyone that they should in fact be _extremely_ worried." Then he raised his voice into his best Lucy impersonation. "'I will not hesitate to send anyone home'. Very scary, princess. Very scary."

Lucy laughed. Probably her first genuine laugh of the whole dinner.

"Are you scared?"

"Terrified. If I have to sit through another dinner like that I might die."

"I can't argue that." Lucy admitted sheepishly with a giggle. "I knew this was going to go terribly."

"It wasn't all bad." Natsu said. "At least I got to see you."

Natsu felt a great deal of pleasure when he saw a pale pink blush creep up on Lucy's face. His joy was immediately replaced, however, by an overwhelming sense of guilt. He was doomed to hurt her. They were never going to be friends. They were never going to be anything more than friends.

"At least I got to see you." Lucy replied softly. Natsu bit his lower lip. Lucy was watching the way his especially long canine tooth tugged on the pink flesh of his lip. "And speaking of seeing you, are you going to take up the offer to stay in the castle during the Contests? It'd be nice to be able to hang out outside of these… functions."

"No." He said suddenly. Hurting Lucy the least meant staying as far as way as possible while still getting her to keep him in the Contests. What? Damn this was difficult. His head hurt.

"Oh. Why not?"

"I can't leave my sister." He blurted out the first excuse that popped into his head.

"She could come too." Lucy said, brightly offering up the easy fix.

But there was no easy fix. Somehow he needed to find the right balance between Lucy liking him, but not too much. He needed some time to think this through. And possibly the help of a Fairy God Mother.

"No, I uh- I'll explain later. Someone wants to talk to you. I got to leave now. Bye!" With that, Natsu was out the door of the Dining Room, shaking his head as he went, thinking about how in the world he was going to get through these next three months.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hey I'm alive! Yep, I know all of you probably thought I was dead, but nope! The heart is still plucking away strong as ever. However, that also means that I feel guilty for not having uploaded in what feels like ages (for both of us I'm sure). I assure you, I have a whole host of fantastic excuses for not getting this chapter written, but since you don't care about them I'll just get onto the part where I promise it (most likely) won't ever take me this long to upload again. The final tournament of my volleyball season is next week and summer is right around the corner, so I'll definitely be more diligent in the future once my time gets freed up.**

 **I must say, though, I really enjoyed writing this chapter. That first part with Laxus was so much freaking fun to write. As much as I adore seeing what Natsu and Lucy are up to, it's a lot of fun to step away from them and get into another character's POV. Let me know if you enjoyed it too!**

 **Next chapter will probably hold the First Contest, so you can go ahead an get hyped for that. It's all about the intelligence so it will be interesting to see how our dear Natsu fares.**

 **Finally, considering how long it took me to write this chapter, I wanted your opinion on something. Would you rather wait longer for a longer chapter to be uploaded? Or would you rather get shorter chapters more frequently? Not saying I plan on changing anything, I'm just curious.**

 **Thank you all so much for your support. It made me so happy when I came back from my writing hiatus to see all the new reviews, favorites and follows on this story. You guys are the best. Talk to you SOON. I promise ;)**


	9. Chapter 9: The First Contest

Chapter 9

The First Contest

"MAVIS!" Natsu yelled. His voice was so thick and loud that it rumbled through the night like a freight train, causing a raccoon to leap away from its hiding place and scurry off into a denser cluster of trees. "MAVIS WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

Wendy covered her ears at the noise and winced. Her brother sure could be loud when he wanted to be.

"Maybe you should be a little quieter?" She suggested; her own soft voice seemed even lighter in comparison to Natsu's full bellied roar. "I know we are far away from the house, but still."

"Yeah." Happy piped up in agreeance. "Natsu, you're probably waking up all of Fiore."

"How else is Mavis going to hear me?!" The pink haired boy protested. He was currently perched up on the branch of a large tree, shouting up at the sky with his white scarf billowing in the wind. "First she pops up out of nowhere before the Ball and now she's nowhere to be found!"

"Maybe the Fairy God Mother thing only works once?" Wendy suggested from her spot on the ground as she held Happy, the little blue cat, in her arms. "Like how a genie only gives you three wishes?"

"MAVIS I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! COME DOWN AND HELP ME OUT, WILL YAH?" Natsu started yelling again, choosing to ignore Wendy's warning. It couldn't be a onetime only thing, right? His Fairy God Mother made it seem like she was with him for the long haul. She wouldn't just abandon him when he needed it most, right?

When his shout was still met only by the eerie stillness of night, Natsu groaned in frustration. He, Wendy and Happy had all woken up in the middle of the night to sneak out and try to get Mavis to appear, but it was to no avail. He had been out in the woods trying for nearly an hour now and his vocal cords were becoming strained.

"YOU'RE THE LAMEST FAIRY GOD MOTHER EVER!" He shouted. "IF YOU DON'T GET YOU'RE BUTT DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW, I'M GOING TO BURN DOWN THE WHOLE FOREST!"

"And what good would that do?" An angelic voice rang out in the night.

Natsu's heart soared with glee as he saw the glowing apparition of a girl standing on the forest floor below, shoeless and wearing a familiar frilly dress.

"You're here!" Natsu cheered as he leaped off of the tree branch and landing lightly on the ground in front of his Fairy God Mother.

"Wow, she actually showed up." Happy deadpanned.

"She's so pretty!" Wendy said in awe, seeing the Fairy for the first time.

"Hello Happy." Mavis said with a smile, looking straight past Natsu. "And it's lovely to finally meet you, Wendy."

"It's good to meet you too!" The blue haired girl said happily.

"Hey what about me?" Natsu said, not liking the fact that he was overlooked.

Mavis shot an icy glare at him that he did not know was possible from her angelic features. Natsu started to sweat as he realized his mistake.

"I didn't mean what I said!" Natsu said, trying to make amends. He wasn't very good at it though. His voice was high pitched and wavering and his couldn't help but fiddle with his thumbs behind his back. "Well I did- but I definitely didn't- I uh, you're not lame! You're really great actually! Thanks for coming and I um… sorry?"

Mavis made him sweat for a little while longer with her silence, staring at him with unflinching eyes.

"Ms. Mavis?" Wendy said sweetly. "Natsu didn't mean what he said. He really does appreciate you, he just gets really impatient sometimes."

The fairy sighed.

"I know." She said eventually. "But you really do need to work on your anger issues, Natsu."

"I know." He mumbled.

"Alright, then, what is it you wanted to see me about? I've been quite busy, you know."

"It's about the Coronal Contests." He said, not wasting any time with small talk. "Eldia found out that Lucy and I… well she found out that we are friends and has masterminded this whole plan where I have to help Sting and Rogue stay in the competition AND drop out at the very end so that one of them can become King. If I don't then she exposes the fact that Wendy and I are wizards. I have no clue what to do."

"Ah." She said softly. "I figured that was what this was about."

"Wait you knew?" Natsu asked.

"Of course. I've said before that I always keep track of you, right? Of course I know about your dilemma, but I'm afraid I can't help you. That's why I was reluctant to answer your call."

"But I thought you were like an all-powerful Fairy-Wizard ghost person? Why not?"

"You aren't wrong." Mavis let out a giggle. "However, my powers do have limits and rules. I can't interfere in matters of life or death. I can't control love or hate. I can't hurt someone for a client's gain. And I can't do anything that directly affects the major course of history."

"That's a lot of rules." Happy commented quietly. Natsu, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes skeptically.

"You can't?" He asked. "Or you won't?"

"Won't." Mavis admitted. "Well actually it's a bit of both. Technically I could, but according to Fairy Law I am not allowed."

"I see." Natsu said. "Well that sucks. Is there nothing you can do to help me out? Like what if you make Eldia like disappear? Or transport her to the North Pole?"

"Both would definitely qualify as harming someone for my client's gain." Mavis giggled. "Although I appreciate your creativity."

"What if you cure Lucy's mom?!" Natsu said suddenly, clapping his hands together as his eyes lit up with a brilliant idea. "If she's not going to die, then there is no need for the Coronal Contests! My deal with Eldia wouldn't matter anymore!"

"I can't save someone from death." Mavis reminded Natsu, shaking her head.

"Would it work if you found a cure for the virus?" Wendy asked thoughtfully. "You wouldn't be _directly_ saving the Queen's life."

Mavis shook her head yet again.

"The EIV virus is an epidemic that will mark Fiore's history for many years to come. I cannot interfere in the resolution of such a monumental event."

"You sure you can't make an exception?" Natsu asked with a friendly wink.

"I'm sorry, Natsu. I just can't."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"Pretty _pretty_ please?"

"No!"

"Well then what the heck am I supposed to do?!"

"This is just something that you need to figure out on your own, Natsu."

Natsu thought hard on her words for a moment. He should have known better than to wish for someone to swoop in and solve all his problems for him. He had to fix things himself. But what was he going to do? He thought back to the time before he discovered he had a Fairy God Mother. The answer then would have been simple.

"Well then that settles it." He said definitively, nodding his head once with a new resolve.

"Settles what?" Wendy asked.

"Natsu is your head broken again?" Happy chirped, but was largely ignored.

"I'm going to find the cure myself." Natsu declared. "If we find the cure, then Lucy's mom can be healed and everyone wins. Well, except for Eldia but that's the point."

"And how are you going to do that?" Happy said. At the same time, Mavis clapped her hands with glee.

"Wonderful!" She said. "I have the upmost faith in you."

Natsu smiled and Wendy rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

"And if we do find the cure, then perhaps we can prove that wizards aren't dangerous after all." The blue haired girl said with a faint smile and blatant hope. "We might not have to hide our secret anymore and be able to leave this place for good."

Natsu's grin widened and he placed a warm hand on his sister's shoulder.

"I didn't even think of that." He said. "In that case, now there is no way I'm going to give up. We will find the cure for sure."

"And how are we going to do that?" Happy asked, finding it odd that he, the talking cat, was the source of reason at the moment. "Do you even have a clue where to start looking?"

"Nope." Natsu said. "But that doesn't matter. We have Mavis on our side!"

"Of course." She replied. "I will certainly cheer you on!"

"Brilliant." Happy deadpanned. "You have a hair brain idea, a Fairy God Mother who can't actually help and a blue cat. This will go _great_."

"Took the words right out of my mouth, little buddy." Natsu joked, ruffling the fur on Happy's head. Then he added more seriously. "Just you wait. I'm going to fix everything. I promise."

For the first time in a long time, Natsu felt an ember of hope in his heart. For the longest time there was nothing to strive for, no end to his suffering, no light at the end of the tunnel, but now he had a plan. He had a goal. He had something to focus all of his energy on and there was no way he was going to fail.

XXX

Natsu chewed on his pen as he stared blankly down upon the tiny scrawls of printed letters on a frighteningly large mound of paper.

 _Which three nations formed a circumstantial alliance in the Seven Hills War?_

Needless to say, Natsu didn't have a clue. It wasn't like he ever went to school or got a real education. He grew up on a farm and the only person who ever bothered to teach him anything was his father, Igneel. And the things that Igneel taught him always tended to revolve around farming, survival, fighting, and of course, Dragon Slayer magic. He was certainly never taught which three lousy nations teamed up in an idiotic war named by someone who clearly needed a lesson in creativity.

And so, he wrote down a random answer and moved onto the next, equally dumbfounding question. He had been going through his process for nearly an hour now and he was mentally done. This was not going well. Not well at all.

Why did the First Contest have to be intelligence? It seemed grossly unfair. All ten of the contestants were grouped together in a large but private room, each sitting at their own individual desk with a hefty examination booklet with a seemingly endless stream of complicated questions inside. Most of the contestants were well-educated so not many had too many others had problems with the test. The only other person that Natsu could see with a similar look of horrified confusion on his face was Elfman, the burly white-haired farmer from a small village. In contrast, Natsu glanced over to his left and saw Gray calmly jotting down answers while to his right Laxus was doing the same with sheer, effortless boredom. They each probably had fancy tutors who drilled this meaningless facts into them from a young age. They each would undoubtedly get full points on the written portion of the First Contest.

The First Contest was divided into four parts. The first was a written exam. It tested general and more specific knowledge about Fiore history, politics, mathematics, and reading comprehension. The other three parts were yet to be announced, but Erza Scarlett, the CCC, made it clear that each contestant would earn a certain amount of points in each stage of the contest. The person with the most points at the end of stage four would be declared the winner.

Natsu was just fighting his hardest not to come in dead last.

 _An integer from 100 through 999, inclusive, is to be chosen at random. What is the probability that the number chosen will have 0 as at least 1 digit?_

He audibly groaned, causing some annoyed glances to be thrown in his direction.

The only good thing about this situation was the First Contest was being held in the privacy of the castle. No outside spectators were invited to watch. After all, it would be pretty bad if the whole country knew _exactly_ how intelligent their future King was.

Natsu didn't know what the probability was that the number chosen will have 0 as at least 1 digit, but he did know that the probability of him getting this question right was exactly equal to zero, so he ended up just doodling a picture of a dragon on his test paper, taking extra time to detail the flames erupting from its mouth.

"TIME!" Erza shouted from the front of the room, her shrill voice startling all of the contestants. "Please, no more writing. Wait patiently as I collect all of your test papers."

Natsu set down his pen. He flipped through the pages of his test booklet, realizing that he hadn't even made it through half of the questions. Indifferently, he shrugged. Had he really expected anything different?

"Thank you. You are all dismissed into the waiting room." Erza said, having collected the bundle of paper in her arms. "I will promptly score your exams and then we will proceed to the next part of the contest. Be warned, while this exam tested concrete knowledge, the following stages will focus more on logic, rationality, and deductive reasoning. To preserve the integrity of the Contest, you will not know your score in each individual part until all are completed. That is all."

Happy to stand up and stretch his legs, Natsu was the first one out of his desk and through the door. The ten contestants spilled into the waiting room that was attached to the examination room. It was yet another luxurious castle chamber that Natsu couldn't tell apart from the rest. The ceiling was tall, the walls were decorated with edgy paintings and a variety of plush black leather couches provided seating places around the area.

"You're being far too generous, Rogue." A voice sneered from behind him. He whirled around to see none other than his two favorite stepbrothers approaching him. "I doubt the farm rat knew the answer to so much as a single question."

"Back off, jack ass." Natsu tried to turn around and just walk away, but Sting insisted on holding a conversation.

"Ooh, not very nice." He replied, feigning hurt. "I don't think the Princess would appreciate that sort of language here."

"You don't know anything about her."

"And you're saying that a filthy slave like yourself does?" He asked with a smirk.

"I'd stop running your mouth right now if I were you." Natsu hissed at him, stopping in his tracks to stare down his stepbrother. "You're mommy isn't here to protect you."

"I'm aware she isn't here." Sting replied coolly. "If she were you'd be cowering in the corner and not trying to act so tough."

"Bastard."

"Coward."

"Hello! I didn't know you guys knew each other!" Lucy said, entering the tense scene, clearly oblivious to what she was getting herself into. Nevertheless she was hoping that a pretty smile would ease the tension.

It didn't.

"We don't." Natsu spat. Ordinarily he would have no problem telling Lucy exactly how he did know Sting, but that was against Eldia's rules. She said nothing, however, about having to be friends with him.

"Your highness!" Sting said charismatically upon the Princess's presence. He dropped the sneer and exchanged it for a charming smile, taking the girl's hand and kissing it like a gentleman. "What a pleasure it is to see you. You look beautiful."

"Why thank you, Sting, it is lovely to see you as well." She said, keeping one eye locked on Natsu. He was still standing rigid with his fists clenched and anger radiating off of him in waves. "If you don't mind, I would like a word with Natsu in private?"

"Of course, your highness." Sting said, doing a decent job of hiding his bitterness upon her request.

"I apologize for my rudeness."

"You are already forgiven."

Lucy gave him one last smile then gestured for Natsu to follow her out of the waiting room and into the empty hallway. He complied in silence.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked. As soon as they were out in the hallway, her royal façade faded away in favor of a much more fragile demeanor filled with concern and care.

"Nothin'." Natsu shrugged, refusing to look her straight in those brown eyes. She raised an eyebrow and then sighed.

"You know I don't care about the stupid contest." She told him gently. "It means nothing to be whether or not you know a bunch of random facts."

Natsu smiled at Lucy's false assumption.

"I know." He laughed. "That test was stupid."

"Welcome to the past ten years of my life." Lucy giggled back. "Growing up, I must have had a thousand tutors trying to drill in every piece of information in the world into my head."

"Doesn't seem very practical."

"Not to you." Lucy agreed. "But if you become King then you are going to have to learn all that stuff eventually."

Natsu studied her closely and Lucy realized her mistake.

"Oh I didn't mean you _will_ become King I just meant that you might since every contestant here has a chance of becoming my husband and… oh I should just stop talking." Lucy threw up her arms in frustration. "You know what I mean."

Natsu smiled, enjoying seeing the faint red blush grace her cheeks. He decided that a flustered Lucy was a very good Lucy indeed. He liked it when she dropped her guard and didn't act so much like a princess. Whenever she was giving a toast at a grand Ball or standing next to her father, the King, she always seemed stiffer. Less likely to smile. Distant. But now, with no one watching, he felt close to her. He felt like he knew her in a way that no one else could.

"Nope you are making zero sense." He said, deciding to tease her a little more with the hopes that he could get her to blush even more. He was successful.

"Alright I take it back! Maybe the Intelligence test _does_ mean something. You are clearly an idiot!"

"Ouch. That's harsh."

"I can't wait to see your score! I bet you get a Zero!"

"No way." Natsu shook his head with confidence. "I at least got one point."

"You don't get any credit for writing your name." Lucy told him bluntly.

"What!? Damn it. Well then I'm screwed."

"Seriously?!" Lucy exclaimed in disbelief. Natsu shrugged, but he over all didn't look too perturbed by the prospect of earning zero points on the first stage. Lucy picked up on this quickly.

"Alright." She sighed. "So if it isn't the test that's bothering you, then what is? Ever since the night of the Ball, you've seemed sort of…"

Natsu waited for the myriad of adjectives she could use to describe his mood swings over the past few weeks. Angry. Weird. Confusing.

"Distant." She said instead. Natsu was surprised. He'd used the same word to describe her in princess-mode.

It was weird. He felt like he was able to- after a little trial and error- see past her royal exterior and into the person she actually was. Was it possible that she felt the same about him? Could she see through whatever exterior he threw up to protect his secrets?

He didn't know how to respond. Denial? Vague answer? He felt a giant urge to tell her the whole truth and nothing but the truth, but he knew that wasn't an option either.

Indirect honesty? Yeah, that's about the best option here.

"You're right. I am being distant." He took a deep breath to steady himself. "I'm not being completely honest with you."

Lucy's eyes widened in genuine in surprise. Physically she took a step back from him, slowly shaking her head.

 _Definitely the wrong choice. Definitely the wrong choice._

"What do you mean?" She asked softly, giving him a chance to explain himself.

 _No turning back now._

"My life… is complicated." He said finally after a punctuated pause. "And I have secrets. Secrets I need to keep to protect my little sister. And I can't tell you. Pretty much ever."

Lucy's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"So you're telling me that you have a really big secret but can't tell me?"

"Yep."

"You sure?"

"Yep."

"Well that is certainly unfavorable." She said. Natsu could visually see it happening. Lucy's nose pointed up in the air. Her shoulders tightened. She clasped her hands together in front of her to give off a sense of effortless grace. In a heartbeat she had transformed from Lucy to the Princess. And Natsu didn't like it at all.

"Lucy-"

"I appreciate the level of honesty you permitted to me. However, I really should be returning to the other contestants."

"Lucy!" He said in frustration as she turned to walk away from him. She didn't look back. "Lucy, wait!"

He grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards him, trying to keep his touch firm but gentle.

"What?" She asked. Her voice was harsh and face a different sort of red than before. "What do you want me to say, Natsu? That I'm okay with you harboring this big secret?"

"Um… yes?"

"I'm not!" She said, raising her voice. "I'm trying to find my _husband_ , the future King of Fiore! And now you are telling me that you have a secret that you can never tell me? Ever?"

"I'm sorry." Natsu said, unsure of what other words he could speak to calm her down. "I didn't think this would be a big deal."

Somehow those words made things even worse. All of Lucy's anger dissipated and she was left with a raw combination of disappointment and sadness.

"You're right. It's not a big deal. I clearly have far too active of an imagination to think that you'd actually be interested in a future where it was a big deal. Good luck in the rest of the contest, Natsu."

With that she turned away and walked back into the room where all the other contestants were still gathered, awaiting the test results and the announcement of the next part of the First Contest.

Natsu was left frozen to the spot, having no idea what Lucy meant or what the hell just happened.

He desperately hoped that deciphering the antics of woman was not a part of this Intelligence Contest.

XXX

Not too much time later, Natsu was in a small room, sitting on a rather uncomfortable chair with Gray doing the same on his right and Laxus sitting more rigidly to his left. For this stage of the First Contest, the contestants were split up into groups of three (with random volunteers filling in to complete the fourth group) and were directed into separate rooms.

"Good, now put on the goggles." Erza commanded them from the front of the room. Earlier she had handed each of them a set of strange looking goggles. It reminded him of the blinders people put on carriage horses so that they could only look forward and not be distracted by whatever was in their peripheral vision.

As Natsu slid the clunky headgear on, he realized that these had a similar effect. It was like he had tunnel vision. He could only see what was directly in his line of sight. To see Gray to his right, he was forced to swivel his head the full 90 degrees. His only pleasure came from seeing how ridiculous Gray looked wearing the goggles.

"Now, this stage of the intelligence contest is very simple." Erza spoke. Out of her bag, she pulled out five hats. "As you see here, I have five hats. Two of them are black and three of them are white. In a moment, your goggles will blind your vision completely and I will place a single hat upon each of your heads. When this is complete and I leave the room with the remaining two hats, the challenge will begin. Your goggles will allow you to see the color hat your two fellow contestants are wearing, but you will be unable to view the color of your own hat. Your task is to undoubtably determine what color hat I place upon your head."

Natsu squinted his eyes, further compromising his already limited vision as he contemplated the problem. His mouth dropped open as he realized what exactly she was asking of them.

"How the hell are we supposed to do that?!"

Erza smiled. "The only hint I can provide you is that you are participating in a contest of intelligence."

Suddenly, his vision went completely black. A few moments later, he felt something being placed on his head.

"You will have three minutes. You may begin." At the same time Erza left the room, his goggles allowed him the same tunnel vision he had experienced previously. He whipped his head to the right and saw that Gray was wearing a white hat. He turned to the left. Laxus was wearing a white hat too.

"This is definitely a change of pace from the written exam, that's for sure." The raven haired prince commented, eyes taking in the sight of the color of two hats.

"This has to be a joke right?" Natsu said.

"Unlikely. I doubt they'd make us do anything impossible. This is just a logic puzzle. There's always a trick."

"Hey, Laxus! You got any idea what the trick is?"

The big blonde didn't respond. He was deep in thought.

"Alright new plan." Natsu said. "Gray you just tell me the color of my hat and I'll tell you the color of yours. Everyone wins!"

"How about you just shut about and use your brain for once? There isn't any point in cheating and besides there is no way we aren't being watched right now."

Natsu scoffed but in the end decided to take Gray's advice and use his head.

There were five hats total. Three white. Two black. Two of the white ones were on Gray's and Laxus' heads. That meant there were only three left that could be on his. Two of the three were black, so his hat was most likely black, right? It was the most likely scenario, but Erza said that you had to be certain. Still, two out of three chances is pretty certain right?

It felt like no time had passed at all when Erza reentered the room.

"Time's up!" She announced. She gave them each a piece of paper and a pen to write on. "Write down your answer and a brief explanation."

Natsu scribbled down his brief reasoning and was slightly perturbed when Gray took even less time than him to write and Laxus took twice as long.

They passed in their papers.

"Excellent. That concludes this portion of the contest." She said. "You may remove your goggles."

"What'd you answer?" Natsu asked Gray. He smiled.

"White." He said. Natsu raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Because a black hat would clash with my hair."

Both boys roared with laughter.

The three contestants filed back into the waiting room, meeting up with the other contestants as well. They had all been divided into groups of three for the challenge. Since this part took a lot less time to score, Erza and Princess Lucy addressed the crowd quickly.

"That was a bit more challenging, wasn't it?" Lucy asked with a smile. Natsu could see right through it though. The way her face wrinkled. The lack of sparkle in her eyes. It was a fake smile.

"To receive full points for this round of the Contest, you needed to provide not only the correct answer, but also the correct explanation. As if to confirm the difficulty of this challenge, I must announce that only two of you were able to do so."

"General Laxus Dreyer." Lucy said. "And Gentleman Rogue Chaney, congratulations. I am very impressed."

There was a polite round of applause that Natsu did not participate in. He had to do his best not to gag as it was announced that Rogue of all people was able to get the puzzle right.

"Would either of you like to explain the reasoning you applied?" Erza asked. "I'm sure the rest of the contestants would be delighted in an answer."

Rogue remained silent as ever, but Laxus stepped forward.

"The answer for everyone was a white hat." Laxus said. "This conclusion is based off the principle that Lady Erza could not have given anyone a black hat, lest the competition be unfair. If she had given two of the three contestants a black hat, then the third would instantly know his was white. Equally telling would be if she had given only one person a black hat. A person would then see one person with a black hat and one with a white hat. Knowing that she could not possibly have given out two black hats, the solution becomes equally clear. All three white hats were passed out so that each contestant would be faced with the same problem."

"Very good." Erza said, beginning another round of applause.

"That make any sense to you?" Gray whispered to Natsu.

"Not a word."

"Not to worry. There is no need to fret over failing to earn points in this round because there is still plentiful opportunity to prove your rationality and logic reasoning to the Princess." Erza said. "We will, however, need a change of venue for the next portion of the contest. Everyone, please follow me!"

The confident redhead began striding towards the door, the ten contestants and the Princess following closely in her wake.

Natsu tried to push through the crowd to get to Lucy, but she was busy chatting to Elfman and Loke simultaneously. He was about to interrupt when-

"It's locked." Erza said in confusion, to no one in particular. She tried to turn the handle of the door again, but it only giggled stubbornly under her firm grip. "Why is it locked?"

"Is this part of the contest?" Laxus asked, instincts suddenly on high alert.

"No it most certainly is not." Erza confirmed, trying again to open the door, but it refused to budge.

Suddenly a loud explosion rattled out in the center of the room, near the ceiling. An elegant piece of parchment appeared out of nowhere and it slowly started to flutter to the ground.

"Magic?" Lucy breathed out in terror. Natsu narrowed his eyes. What the hell was going on?

Erza shouldered her way through the group of people and snatched the paper out of the air before it hit the ground. Lucy remained close by her side.

"There's a note written on it." She breathed out.

 _My dear, amusing people,_

 _I've been watching your contest of "intelligence" and I must say, I am rather bored. You standards for intelligence are rather pitiful and I think it prudent to raise the bar._

 _I'm sure you all are aware of the recent assassination attempt on the Princess's life. Although I have no intention of revealing my identity any time soon, I will inform you that it was I who was responsible. I did not fire the arrow, however. That was someone else. An accomplice. And that person is in this room. How does the Princess feel, I wonder, to know that one of her suitors is responsible for her near death?_

 _Now let the real test of logic and deductive reasoning begin. I challenge the mighty contestants to identify the would-be assassin. I have ensured that the no one can enter or leave until you have done so. And, to raise the stakes, a poisonous gas had been ejected into this room. You have half an hour before it suffocates and kills you all._

 _Best of Luck_

Erza read the note out loud, somehow keeping her voice steady despite the content of the letter. A shiver was sent down Natsu's spine. The person who tried to kill Lucy was in this room. And the mastermind behind it was insane. And had access to magic.

This was not good. Not good at all.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hey. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Leaving you with a cliff hanger is so much fun. Who do you think wrote the letter? I'd love to hear your guesses. Oh, and don't hate on Lucy for potentially overreacting this chapter in the scene between her and Natsu. She isn't too good at expressing herself yet, so we'll get more of what was going through her head in the future.**

 **Whenever a character has a giant secret to keep from someone close to them in a book/movie/TV show, I never understand why the character just doesn't explain that they are being _forced_ to keep said secret before everything blows up in his/her face. I had Natsu be very blunt about the fact that he's keeping some things from Lucy in order to avoid a story line that I feel I already played out in my other story, A New World. That was my intention. Just trying to keep things fresh for you guys. **

**Oh, and did anyone guess the answer to the hat logic puzzle before I revealed the solution in chapter? If so let me know, because I would like to applaud you for being a genius. I thought it was pretty cool; I love those sort of puzzles.**

 **Anyways, eat your vegetables and tell someone you love them. I'll try to have the next chapter out as soon as I can.**


	10. Chapter 10: Predator and Prey

Chapter 10

Predator and Prey

Lucy's heart hammered against her chest, one thunderous beat at a time.

 _Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud._

Her usually friendly brown eyes scanned the room in suspicion, staring intensely at each face that she had grown to know, wondering which one was the one that she actually didn't know at all.

Natsu appeared at her side. His hand dangled so close to her own that she thought he might have held it if they were lucky enough to be alone.

But they weren't. There was a killer among them.

"We're going to catch him in time." He whispered to her softly. "And I'm not going to let him lay a finger on you. Whoever he is. That's a promise."

Lucy nodded once as she returned his fierce, unwavering gaze.

"Thank you." She whispered.

At this moment, Natsu was the only person she could truly trust. He was right beside her when the assassination attempt was made on her life. He had saved her, moved her out of the path of a speeding arrow. Her heart softened at the comforting thought that at least the assassin couldn't be Natsu.

"Everybody line up in a straight line." Laxus demanded his booming voice bringing all of the shocked faces back into reality. "The princess stays next to me. If the assassin isn't identified in half an hour we are all going to die. I will identify that person in an orderly fashion. That means my orders must be followed without exception. Is everyone clear on that?"

There were some nods and many of the contestants- Elfman, Gajeel, Loke, Jet, Droy, Sting, Rogue- complied and stood in a line facing Laxus and the princess.

"I was with Lucy that night. I can't be the assassin." Natsu said stubbornly, reluctant to leave the blonde's side. She smiled softly.

"I don't care." Laxus said. "For all I know you could be involved. Now line up."

"No way!"

"For once the idiot is right." Gray said, taking a step towards the large and muscular blonde general. "Natsu is the only one that we know for sure is innocent. You, on the other hand, could be the guilty one."

"Be careful where you place your accusations, _Prince_ Gray." Laxus said, his voice slow and dangerous. "I am the Chief Commanding General of the Fiore Army. I dedicate my life to helping this country and its royal family."

"Yes, you do." Erza said. She had been thinking quietly after she read the note out loud, but now she was ready to deal with it. "However, the prince is right. For the sake of fairness in this investigation you must be treated as a suspect. Please line up with the others, General."

Laxus gritted his teeth as a bulging vein appeared to almost pop out of his forehead.

"Very well." He said and then went to join the line of other suspects. Satisfied, Gray followed in suit.

"As the note made it clear that one of the contestants is the assassin who attempted to murder the princess, it is only logical that I lead the investigation." Erza said. "We have no choice but to identify this assassin before the end of the half hour we were given. Unfortunately, we have already wasted five of those minutes, so we must begin immediately. I will ask questions of each of you regarding the night of the Ball. Answer them honestly and speak loud enough so that everyone will hear. It is going to take all of our collective brainpower and intuition to identify the assassin off testimony alone. Natsu, you will be exempt from the investigation since you were the one who saved Princess Lucy's life during the incident. Stay close and protect her."

Lucy knew that Natsu didn't need to be told twice.

"But how do we even know that whoever wrote that letter is telling the truth?" Sting asked, speaking up after throwing a glance at Natsu that Lucy couldn't interpret. "This could just be an attempt to turn us against each other."

"It is strange." Gajeel added. His arms were crossed over his chest and his red eyes were extremely skeptical. Lucy got the feeling he wasn't taking this life or death situation too seriously. That was his reputation, though. Even though he was knight, a skilled warrior known for discipline and bravery, he was still brash and reckless. He was the kind of guy who never had a chance to be brave because of his unconditional fearlessness. It was part of what made him so respected and feared on the battlefield. "Why would this guy admit to being behind the whole thing if he had a minion working for him who could easily take the fall? This could just be a lunatic playing with us. We don't even know if there is a poisonous gas in this room. I sure as hell can't sense anything."

"Yet it could prove to be lethal if we don't take the note seriously." Erza said. "We have no other choice but to take the letter as fact."

Gajeel shrugged and fell back into silence.

Erza started to her right, intending to work her way down the row of men with her questions.

"Prince Jet." Erza addressed the tall and wispy redhead with cautious respect. "Where were you and what were you doing at the time of the assassination attempt?"

"In the Grand Hall!" He replied promptly. His voice was high-pitched and frightened. His eyes flickered to the other contestants in fear, wondering which one of them was capable of murder. "Where else would I have been? I was with my brother! We were talking to the Duke of Brighton!"

"It's true. I swear." Droy added quietly in a wavering voice. He was much less frantic, but equally frightened. Lucy quickly decided that in a scary situation, Jet was the kind of person to run for the hills while Droy would be the guy to cower in a corner. Somehow Lucy couldn't help but think that neither were preferable qualities for a King.

"We shouldn't waste our time on them." Loke, the suave gentleman with cat-like eyes said. "The assassin was working alone. If they both say they were together in the Grand Hall during the incident, both are ruled out as the culprit. They're each other's alibi."

"Unless one brother is covering up for the other." Laxus added through narrow eyes. Lucy felt a sting of pity for the two princes from Bosco as they cowered in their boots under his harsh gaze.

Rogue sighed. His eyes were closed. Lucy wasn't sure if that was out of boredom or contemplation, but he spoke steadily nevertheless.

"If you were hiring someone for murder, wouldn't the prince of another country be one of last people you would choose?"

That cord of logic struck everyone so hard that there was no doubt left in anyone's mind that Jet or Droy was the criminal.

"Guess that rules me out too, huh?" Gray said with a pleased smirk.

"For now, yes." Erza said with a satisfied nod.

"Good, because I can't for the life of me remember where I was at that time."

"Probably eating all the fried pickles." Natsu said offhandedly.

"You still hung up on that?"

"You still a thieving jerk-face?"

"That pickle was fair game!"

"BOYS!" Erza roared over their squabble. Both of them silenced immediately.

Lucy bit back a smile. Both of them had a way of lightening the mood. The weight on Lucy's shoulders felt to be significantly less while she was wondering what beef those two had over a fried pickle. She'd have to ask them about that later.

Next Erza moved on to question Loke. He gave a long and descriptive anecdote about all the woman that begged him for dances and how he refused because his heart belonged to the princess. Lucy would have giggled under literally any other circumstance.

"I can vouch for him." Gray offered. His friend nodded in appreciation. "He didn't act suspicious on the trip here and never disappeared at any time."

Lucy wished that was enough, but the word of a friend was simply not enough to confirm one's innocence. She didn't think that anyone in this room was guilty, but clearly someone was. Her heart rate started to pick up again. What if they couldn't identify who it was? If they didn't soon, then they would all die. Subconsciously, she shifted closer to Natsu. If anything happened to him it would be her fault. She was the one who convinced him to join this whole competition.

Next down the row was Sting and Rogue. They each told Erza where they were and what they were doing.

She felt Natsu bristle beside her as he listened to their stories. Lucy didn't comment, but grew nervous. Did Natsu suspect one of them?

Gajeel gave a gruff and undetailed response to Erza's questions. No one suspected him, however. He was a knight, sworn to protect the royal family and subjected to extensive background checks before he could even begin his training. The same went for Laxus as Erza went through the protocol of asking him the same questions she asked everyone else.

Soon all the suspects had been questioned except for one. Elfman.

Lucy felt her stomach drop.

If it didn't make any sense to hire someone well known and of royalty such as a prince to be an assassin, then it _did_ make sense to hire a lowly farmer. Someone that no one knew. Someone that no one would look twice at in a room. Someone strong and tough. Someone like Elfman.

"Where were you and what were you doing at the time of the assassination attempt?" Erza asked. Lucy looked at the redhead. Erza must suspect him as well.

There was only ten minutes left. Was there enough time to be sure?

"I was in the Grand Hall just like everyone else." He said. He swung his head from left to right. Everyone was staring at him. Everyone was solemn and suspicious. Everyone was on the same page as Lucy. He was the only one that made sense. "I was talking to a guy named Jackson. He came from a farm just like me and wanted a chance to see the inside of the Fiore Castle."

His voice sounded so genuine. His eyes were filled with worry and his hands were clasped in front of him tightly as some sort of helpless defense against all of the accusatory eyes focused on him.

Lucy shook her head. Nothing made sense. He was also so sweet and unassuming when the spoke. He had such a gentle soul.

What a fantastic liar he would have to be to pull that off…

"And why are you here?" Erza pressed. "Why did you enter the Coronal Contests?"

"Well, I just thought why not give it a shot?" He said. Nerves were dripping from his voice. "I thought it would be fun to take a break from working on the farm and visit Crocus. I never expected for the princess to notice me and choose me to continue on!"

Erza frowned.

"Elfman." Laxus said, stepping out from his place along the line to stand next to Erza. Although he and Elfman were near the same height, the blonde man seemed to tower over his white haired junior. "I'm sure you are wise enough to understand what is going on here. No one here knew you before the Contests. You are a poor farmer. Easily persuaded. I assume he offered you money? New land? Perhaps someone you loved was threatened. If you admit to what you have done now, punishment for your crime may not be execution. There is a chance that the King might allow you to live if you hand yourself in now to save the princess' life."

"What?!" Elfman said in shock. He shook his head furiously in denial. Tears even began to stream down his face. "It wasn't me! I would never do something like that! You have the wrong person!"

"Deny it any longer and you make your death absolute." The General spoke without mercy.

Lucy's heart pounded just as hard as before, but for a different reason. He sounded so desperate. The way his voice cracked, the way the salty tears left stains on his cheeks as they rolled down to the floor… what if they really were accusing the wrong person?

"I'm not the assassin!" He insisted. Both his voice and his stance had become unmistakable, unashamed begging. "Please, you can't just accuse me like this without any evidence! I have two sisters. They were the real reason why I came here. They wanted me to come. Our parents are dead and we handle the family farm on our own. It takes a lot of work, but we work together! We're happy! Please don't take me away from them. Please don't make them live without their brother! I beg you! It wasn't me."

"Elfman." Erza placed her hand out to stop Laxus from speaking again. Her voice was calm and sympathetic in comparison to his. "You said that during the assassination attempt, you were talking to a fellow farmer named Jackson. Can you tell us more about him? Where was his farm located?"

"Sure, no problem." He said, relieved that the woman had not condemned him just yet. A little light of hope sparked in his eyes. However, that hope quickly faded away and was replaced by a horrified confusion. "Jackson's farm was… it was eastward. Or was it to the west? I can't remember what town it was near…"

"And did Jackson mention what kind of crop he grew?"

"No… he must not have. I don't remember…"

"Did he speak of his family?"

"I- I don't know."

"Did he ask you about yours?"

"I can't remember."

"Do you recall anything about your conversation whatsoever?" Erza asked.

"No." Elfman breathed out. He unclasped his hands and stared at them as if he were expecting them to be covered in blood. His voice grew in agonized desperation. "I can't remember anything about it. Why don't I remember anything?!"

Erza sighed in pity. Lucy looked on in horror. She glanced up at Natsu and saw that his eyes held nothing but sympathy for the sorry, confused man.

"If I'm correct," Erza said slowly. "You've been brainwashed, Elfman. This person, the one pulling the strings, must have persuaded you to assassinate the princess and then wiped your memories of it afterwards, leaving you with a shallow memory of a possible alibi. He has shown that he is capable of magic. Who knows what else he can do?"

Lucy gasped. For a moment she couldn't believe it. But then Elfman spoke.

"Brainwashed? No it can't be I-" Elfman stopped speaking midsentence and froze. His muscles constricted and his back straightened sharply, stiff as a board. His pupils rolled back into his head for a second and when they returned, the young man named Elfman was completely different.

His muscles loosened. He placed a hand on his him with arrogant ease. His narrowed eyes were sinister. Evil.

"Congratulations, you pass the test." He said. His voice still belonged to Elfman, but it was different. The pitch, tone, inflection, it was all wrong. It was like it was coming from the wrong body. "Although it was actually the redhead who did most of the work. The rest of you were quite useless. I doubt the princess will be too impressed."

"Who are you?" Laxus demanded.

"What would be the fun in telling you?" Elfman replied. "Secrets are what keep life from becoming too boring."

"You're him." Erza said. "The one who wrote the letter. You did take control of Elfman."

"Yes, yes keep up." He snapped. "However, it's not as bad as it sounds. I can't possess someone unless they are willing, so my dear Elfman did agree to my powers of… persuasion."

"He would never agree to letting someone like you control him." Natsu said. Lucy was shocked that he spoke. Her body tightened as Elfman's amused gaze was now directed at the two of them.

"Oh, but he did. Quite willingly too, I might add. After I threatened to kill his two pretty sisters he was very agreeable."

"I knew it." Natsu said. "Elfman was a good person."

"Too good in my opinion." The possessed Elfman said quickly. "Yet Mr. General over here was still prepared to string him up."

"We will find the real you." Laxus said nobly. "Justice will be served."

"How dreadfully boring you are. Nevertheless, I do believe in justice just like you. You succeeded in identifying the assassin and so you are free to go." Elfman snapped his fingers and the doors to the room flew open.

"What about the poisonous gas?" Erza said quickly.

Elfman laughed. It was a positively sinister laugh that sounded all wrong coming from his body.

"There was never any poisonous gas." He said. "That was just for dramatic effect. It worked quite nicely, don't you think?"

"Why are you doing this? Why do you want to kill the princess?!" Laxus demanded in an angry shout.

"Well, this was fun. Hope we can do it again sometime. Enjoy the Contests, my princess. I wish you the best of luck on your journey to find love."

Elfman's eyes rolled back into his head and he promptly collapsed onto the ground. Everyone stared at him, frozen in shock. But it was Lucy who couldn't bear to stand still anymore. She rushed to his side and knelt beside him.

"Elfman." She said. "Elfman, are you okay?"

She tried to turn Elfman over so that she could see his face, but he was just too big and heavy for her to move. In a flash, Natsu was beside her again, helping her. Together they turned the large man over on his back.

His eyes were wide open but his pupils had not returned to their ordinary positions.

"Elfman?" Natsu said.

Fear and a painful realization shot down Lucy's spine.

Elfman wasn't breathing.

Lucy placed two hesitant fingers on the side of his neck. There was no pulse. No sign of life. Everyone looking on was silent. No one dared speak a word. But she was the princess. She had to say something.

"He's dead." She whispered. "Elfman's dead."

Silence fell back over the room. The mood changed. She didn't think it was possible for things to feel any grimmer than before, but it did. It did.

Whoever this person was, whatever this psychopath was trying to accomplish, he didn't mind killing to do it. It was easier before. It was easier think of her assassin as a nameless, voiceless criminal. It was easier to think of him as a thug looking for money or a conspiracy theorist wanting revenge. But now she knew. Whoever was trying to kill her was not an ordinary criminal. He could use magic. He didn't mind killing others on his way to her. And he was bored.

And that was the most terrifying thing of all.

XXX

Heavy raindrops splattered against the cobblestone path, creating a melody of rebirth as the water washed away all of the grime and dirt that normally marred the alley. Tall, dark buildings rose up like prison walls on either side of the alley, dwarfing the dark silhouette that made its way below them with only the hood of a cloak as protection against the rain.

Eldia drew her hood closer around her face, worried that the filthy precipitation might distort the carefully assembly of makeup coloring her otherwise pale complexion. The drumming of the rain muffled the clicking sound that her heels would usually make against the cobblestone path of the alley. That was the only part of the weather that pleased her. Well, that and the fact that it was dark. The shadowy hood of clouds made the dark alley even more obscure, allowing her to move through the darkness unnoticed by any potential on lookers.

Yes, her business today was best done in the dark.

"Beautiful day."

The voice that spoke out above the rain was not hers. Eldia stopped abruptly in her tracks, almost losing her balance on the unstable platform of her shoes.

A man, face shielded by a dark hood of his own, stepped out of a shadow blacker than the rest. It wasn't until then that she could detect his presence, his gleaming black eyes, his cool composure, his sinister blank face. He regarded her with unperturbed comfort, effortless superiority. The contempt in his eyes was married with an almost unnoticeable tinge of amusement. Eldia had enough nightmares about those eyes to know that the amusement was at her expense.

How foolish she had been to think the darkness was her territory. It clearly belonged to _him_.

Nevertheless, Eldia swallowed and regained her composure. Those calculating eyes could see every minute change in her appearance even in the shadows. She had to project strength. The strength of an equal.

"Perhaps." She kept her voice cold and nose high, taking advantage of their difference it height. "However, I've had better."

"And why might that be?" He asked. Eldia felt a jolt of frustration. He knew very well why she was angry.

"Sting and Rogue told me about the events of the First Contest." She said. "I can only assume that the assassination attempt on the princess' life was you're doing?"

The man didn't bother to answer her question. They both knew the response. Eldia continued.

"That was not a part of our agreement. The princess is to remain unharmed. That is crucial."

The man titled his head to the left in boredom and then shifted it back over to the right.

"You're wasting my time." He said. "I'm not interested in listening to your every complaint."

"This is more than a complaint. Through your brainwashed minion, you attempted to kill the princess. That is unacceptable!"

"If I wanted Lucy dead." The man said slowly, letting his words sink into the night like a heavy fog. "She'd be dead. The girl was never in any real danger."

Eldia paused, taken aback. His words didn't match his actions, but she knew better than to not take him seriously.

"And why is that?"

The man let out a small laugh but there was nothing humorous about it.

"I always keep my end of a bargain. If it concerns you so much, I'll stay away from the princess." He said, eyes glowering with a new intensity and perverse pleasure. "She doesn't interest me in the slightest. But the boy- he fascinates me very much. I have so much fun playing with _him_."

With that, the man turned and walked away, sauntering into the shadows with effortless invisibility. A heart beat later his presence had vanished entirely and only a chill running down Eldia's spine remained as proof of their meeting. Eldia nodded and turned to walk back in the direction she had come, a new understanding resonating in her like music.

 _He does always enjoy messing with his play things_. Eldia thought with a smile of the hooded man. _He targeted the princess simply because he knew Natsu would save her._

As if the sky chose to recede along with the intensity of the meeting, the rain began to slow to a drizzle, allowing Eldia to pull back her hood and look up at the dark gray blanket that shielded the Earth from the sun. She smiled a wicked smile.

 _I wonder what that boy could have possibly done to catch his eye. Zeref doesn't chose his prey lightly._

She felt a small pang of sadness that she may have to share her right to torment the pink haired brat with another, but she would not dare stand in Zeref's way when he wanted something. So long as he allowed the boy to live through the end of the Contests, she would have to stand back and watch another hunter take what had been her prey for so many years. That wouldn't be a problem though. He was a lot like her.

Zeref liked to play with his prey before making it a meal.

She was going to enjoy watching the boy squirm.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hey guys! Thanks for bearing with me on the slow updates. You guys are the best.**

 **Zeref is here! And his real target is not other than Natsu. What will happen next? Stay tuned. Or leave and come back in a month for the next chapter. Haha, just kidding. Sort of.**


	11. Chapter 11: An Understanding

Chapter 11

An Understanding

"I really am sorry." Lucy said, hot with awkwardness and tense with nerves. "But with everything that has been going on, I think it is in everyone's best interest to keep the Coronal Contests as brief as possible. I regret that I don't feel like either of you is the correct fit as my husband. I'm going to have to let you go. I'm sorry."

Her well-rehearsed words were met by the blank and stilted faces of Prince Jet and Prince Droy. The larger of the two just sat in his chair, allowing his mouth to hang open in confusion while the other let a slight frown settle across his face.

Lucy tried to tell if their expressions held any anger, but she couldn't be sure. Surely these two didn't actually think she may choose one of them, did they? The fact that they were royalty was the only reason they were still around, but perhaps that was why they may not have seen this coming. Would they be angry? Feel betrayed? Complain to their father? Nullify the alliance between Fiore and Bosco?

Perhaps her words were too harsh. What was she thinking, saying things like "I'm going to have to let you go"? What kind of break up line was that? It sounded like she didn't respect their station-

"Alright." Jet said.

"We'll need some food for the trip home." Droy added, rubbing his belly.

"Oh- of course." Lucy quickly said. "I'll alert the kitchens immediately. No expense will be spared."

"Good." Droy said.

"Come, brother, we must oversee the servants as they pack up our things. My favorite purple shirt was wrinkled on the way here."

"Finally we get to go home." Droy said. "Our castle's food is much better."

"Um, goodbye, then." Lucy said, raising her hand in a polite wave. However, the two princes were already walking away and didn't see her gesture. Lucy smiled a very confused and forced smile.

She wasn't expecting that.

 _I really need to work on reading facial expressions._

XXX

"Tell me one more time why you can't just magic up a potion cure?" Natsu asked stubbornly with his arms crossed. Mavis rolled her eyes.

"I can't directly interfere in something that would change the course of so many lives." She repeated the same statement for what seemed like the millionth time.

"But you aren't directly curing them, you'd just be making the cure-"

"For the last time it doesn't work like that!" Mavis snapped, growing very weary of this circular conversation.

"Why the hell not?" Natsu shot back.

"Because loopholes don't exist with Fairy Magic. There are only a few rules but those rules are absolute."

"They're lame."

"They're necessary."

"Why can't you just break the rules? This is important."

"I've been around for over 400 years. This is not the first time I've heard someone say _that_."

"But-"

"I _can't_ break the rules. I am physically incapable of it." Mavis sighed, sitting down on one of the cots in the same closet-like attic inside which Wendy and Natsu slept.

"It's alright Natsu." Wendy said. The small blue haired girl had been listening to the conversation in silence, allowing her big brother to vent will she observed with thoughtful brown eyes. "We already knew before this that we were going to have to find a cure ourselves. Give Mavis a break. She'll do all that she can to help. I'm sure."

"I just thought she'd be a little more useful." Natsu muttered.

"Say that again and I'll turn your hair green." Mavis threatened.

"Let's think." Wendy encouraged. "If Mavis can't create, conjure or locate a cure herself, then we are left with at least three options. Either we locate a preexisting cure, manufacture the cure ourselves, or find someone who can."

"But we hardly even know exactly what it is that we are curing." Natsu said, ruffling his hair with a twitchy hand. "We don't have much to go on."

"And that's why our first step should be gathering information about the disease." Wendy said.

"Right." Natsu nodded. "I'll be sure to ask Lucy about her mom."

"And I'll use a little magic to procure some doctor's reports on patients with EIV." Mavis chipped in.

"Oh, so now you say something useful." Natsu said with a smirk.

Mavis snapped her fingers. Natsu's hair turned green.

Wendy let out a squeal of laughter as Natsu's face went blank as he wondered what she could possibly be laughing at. Fumbling around the messy pseudo-bedroom for a hand held mirror, Natsu examined his appearance. His shock of messy hair was now a vibrant shade of lime green. He yelled.

"WHAT THE HELL MAVIS?!"

Both ladies roared in laughter while Natsu threw his temper tantrum.

"I warned you." The Fairy God Mother said slyly, gathering her breath to shoot a calm, superior stare at the young wizard.

"Turn my hair back right now!"

"Perhaps if you apologize."

"No way!"

"Then I hope your Lucy doesn't mind the color green."

Natsu outwardly prickled at that statement, but on the inside he melted a little. She had said _his_ Lucy. He didn't mind the sound of that at all.

"What Lucy wants is for her mom to be okay." Natsu said, surprising both ladies with his serious tone. "Learning more about this magic disease is one method, but it doesn't guarantee that we will be able to find a cure 100%. It's a good place to start, but I also think that we need to try to find the ultimate reason behind the disease. We all know magic isn't dangerous like everyone thinks."

"What are you saying, Natsu?" Wendy asked in a soft voice. "Do you think… do you think that someone _created_ EIV on purpose?"

"I'm not sure what to think." Natsu said grimly. "But it's hard to believe that the assassination attempt on Lucy and the disease that is killing her mother are unrelated."

Wendy gasped in realization. "Maybe the person behind the assassination attempt is the same person who created this disease."

"Exactly." Mavis said, nodding her head. "That is definitely a possibility we cannot rule out. However, it also won't do us any good to jump to conclusions not supported by hard evidence. That is why we must begin by learning everything we can."

"Fine." Natsu said with a nod. "But after we learn what we need, I'm not holding back."

"I wouldn't expect you too." Mavis said with a smile. "You won't let anything stop you. Not even green hair."

Natsu gaped and pulled on his strands of hair when he remembered what color they were.

"Awe come on, turn it back! Please! I'm sorry I said you were unhelpful!"

Mavis smiled in satisfaction.

"Fine." She said. "But only because you have a visitor."

Natsu raised an eyebrow in surprised and then walked over to peek out the tiny window out onto the grassy field below. There was a person emerging from the forest surrounding the ranch house, walking around the barn, turning her head in uncertain curiosity.

It was Lucy.

Mavis snapped her fingers and Natsu knew his hair was back to normal.

"Thanks."

"Have fun." She replied. "But do remember to ask her about her mom."

"Will do." Natsu replied. He bid farewell to Wendy and hurried out the door to meet Lucy on the fields below, wondering what the Princess of Fiore was doing here.

XXX

"I don't know." Lucy said softly. "I guess I was just feeling sort of lonely. Sometimes the castle starts to seem really big and I start to feel really small. And after everything that's happened… I just wanted to see you."

"It's pretty dangerous, you know." Natsu replied as he finished settling Lucy's horse into a spare stall in the barn. "To ride here by yourself."

Lucy shrugged with a guilty smile. "That's why I didn't ask permission."

"I would try to scold you for it, but I'd do the same thing myself if I were you."

They left the horse behind in the barn and walked out into the sunlight. They traveled aimlessly towards the vibrant green fields of blueberry bushes and began to walk down a narrow row, brushing shoulders as they passed between the tall walls of shrub that grew taller than their heads.

"So do you and your sister live on this farm by yourselves?" Lucy asked. Her question sent a momentary panic through Natsu's bloodstream. Eldia and her two sons took a trip into town today and wouldn't be back until nightfall. As per his agreement with Eldia, he wasn't supposed to let Lucy know his relation to Sting and Rogue. But he didn't want to lie either.

"We live with my stepmother." He said simply. "She's took a trip into town today though."

"I see." Lucy nodded. Natsu changed the subject quickly before she could ask any more questions about his family.

"You've ever had fresh blueberries before?"

"The kitchens at the castle always have fresh fruits."

"Not fresh like this." Natsu said. He plucked a blueberry- plump and round- off of the bush and offered it to the blonde girl.

"I'll be the judge of that." She replied and accepted his offering, popping the blue morsel into her mouth without hesitation. Instantly her eyes lit up with surprised and her lips spread into a large smile after swallowing. "That was incredible!"

"Told yah." Natsu replied. He grabbed a blueberry himself and chomped it quickly. The blueberry was still warm from the heat of the sun, but somehow that just made the natural sweet and tang of the berry play more prominently in his mouth. "There's nothing like eating fruit straight off the plant."

They continued to stroll down the rows of blueberry plants, stealing berries and eating them with smiles and laughter. The sun felt good on their backs and the company wasn't too bad either. The stress of the past few weeks seemed to lift off their shoulders as their easy conversation flowed from random topic to random topic.

When their bellies were full of blueberries, they settled down in a small clearing that was shaded by a moderately sized tree. They had avoided it for as long as possible, but eventually the inevitable subject came up.

"So how are you doing?" Natsu asked.

"I'm fine." She said. "My dad has ordered there to be constant security on me at all times. It gets a little suffocating sometimes."

Natsu laughed. "So then how did you manage to escape the castle?"

"It wasn't too difficult. I said I wanted to go riding in the woods and, of course, three of my guards offered to go with me. About an hour in I said I needed to relieve myself. They of course didn't question or follow me when I distanced myself from the group. I wonder how long it took them to realize I wasn't coming back."

They both laughed. "Respect." Natsu said. "Alright so you have some extra security, but what else has the guard been doing? Are they any closer to finding the person who controlled Elfman?"

"No." Lucy sighed. "No one has any clue where to start looking and frankly most are scared to try. Whoever this person is, he or she can use magic. That's not something easily dealt with."

Natsu nodded as a particularly strong breeze rushed over them. He waited for it to pass.

"And your mom? How is she doing?"

"The same." Lucy said in a small voice. "Still sick. She's growing weaker every day."

Natsu hated seeing the sadness in Lucy's eyes every time the subject of her mom came up. He wanted to talk about something else to cheer her up, but he had to keep pressing further into the matter.

"When did you first start to notice her getting sick?" Natsu asked. If Lucy thought the question was odd she didn't show it.

"Around two months ago."

"Was she traveling? Do you think that's how she was infected?"

"She was actually… She was visiting a town that had recently been damaged by a bad storm."

"Anything unusual happen on the trip?"

"Well… Why are you asking all these questions?" Lucy asked. She wasn't angry; she was just confused. Natsu again opted to go with the truth.

"I just thought that if we could learn more about this virus, then maybe we could find a cure." He said. Lucy's eyes sparkled with hope for a moment before they faded once more.

"I appreciate the thought, Natsu, but there is no cure." She said, shaking her head. "This is just what magic does. It's dangerous and does nothing but harm. It's a horrible pestilence that can't be controlled. That's what makes it so lethal."

"What if it's not?" Natsu said, uncomfortable with the bitterness in Lucy's voice when she spoke of magic, an integral part of his own existence. "What if magic isn't as bad as everyone thinks? It has been around for years and years, yet this EIV disease is pretty recent. Maybe the catalyst is something else."

Lucy's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"EIV is caused by exposure to ethernano. It's caused by magic."

"It's caused by an abnormally high concentration of ethernano particles in a person's body." Natsu said with a shake of his head.

"Exactly." Lucy responded. "People shouldn't have _any_ ethernano in their bodies at all. Wizards spread the particles and infect innocents with it. That's why magic is banned."

Natsu sighed. He wasn't winning this fight. Lucy, like everyone else, grew up with the belief that magic is evil and dangerous. The only way to fully convince her would be to reveal his own magic to her, but something told him that would not go over well.

"Does this have to do with the secret you are keeping from me? You're acting pretty strange, you know." Lucy said when Natsu didn't respond for a while.

"The point of having a secret is that I can't tell you about it."

"Yeah, but you're also supposed to keep the fact that you have a secret a secret too. Or at least that's how the practice generally works."

"Guess I'm not a general guy."

"You're most definitely not." Lucy agreed. Natsu let out a deep breath.

"I'm really sorry for pestering you about your mom. But, I just don't think we can just write off this disease as incurable. If there's any shot, I need to take it. Not just to save your mom, but to save everyone else infected too. So Lucy, if there really was anything out of the ordinary that happened around the time your mom fell ill, you got to tell me."

Lucy looked at him with wide sparkling eyes. Tears were pooling up beneath them, threatening to escape in droplets of tears.

"I've never- I've never considered the notion that there might actually be a cure out there for her." Lucy said softly, her voice coming out in tiny whispers. "It was all painful enough without getting my hopes up… I can't thank you enough for trying Natsu. I truly appreciate it."

Natsu smiled, but didn't push her. It took her a moment, but she continued on her own.

"There was something weird about her return home that time ago. Her carriage was ambushed by thieves. They weren't wizards though. And our family's guards fended them off easily enough. That's why no one thought anything of it. They still don't but… well it was definitely unusual."

Natsu nodded, processing the new information, wondering what it could mean.

"Thank you." He said. He reached out and grabbed Lucy's hand, seeing that the tears were rolling freely down her cheeks now. "And Lucy? Hoping for what everyone tells you is an impossible outcome isn't always bad."

She looked up at him. "How do you know?"

"Because I do it every day." He replied. "I live with my stepmother because my real mom died twelve years ago and my dad disappeared not too long after. One day he was here and the next he was gone. I don't know why he left, where he went, or if he is even still alive. Most people say that he is probably dead. But I don't. I think he is alive out there and there isn't anything that could stop me from hoping that I'm right."

"Natsu… I had no idea."

"I don't know your mom, but if she is anything like mine was, I don't think she'd want you to give up hope either. I think she'd want you to believe that you still have a future together."

Lucy couldn't hold herself back anymore. She threw herself into Natsu's arms and he happily wrapped her up in them, holding her tightly against his chest as her tears soaked his shirt. He rubbed comforting circles onto her back and rested his chin on her silky sheet of blonde hair.

"Thank you." The girl mumbled into his chest. "I don't know what I'd do if we never met."

She felt so warm and soft in his arms, so fragile that she may break if he squeezed too hard. But at the same time he was holding her, she was holding him too, making him feel just a little stronger, just a little braver.

"Me neither." He said.

XXX

The sun was on its descent in the sky when Natsu walked Lucy back to the small barn to her horse.

"I don't want to go back." She complained.

"I don't want you to go back either, but you got to leave before night falls." He said, still holding her hand protectively in his.

"I'm going to be in big trouble."

"Massive trouble."

"It was worth it."

"I think so too."

"I guess I'll see you again for the second contest?" Lucy asked.

"Wouldn't miss it." Natsu replied. "Any hints on what it is?"

"Not a chance." She said. "I want you to be surprised. Although… I will tell you that I think you are going to enjoy this contest a little more than the last one."

Natsu raised an eyebrow.

"That sounds promising." He said as he placed the saddle on Lucy's horse, tightening the straps and making sure it was stable.

Lucy hesitated before she climbed on.

"Look, I never apologized to you for before… I got really angry at you for keeping a secret from me, but I didn't have the right. This whole Coronal Contests thing makes everything seem so much… bigger than it really is. The fact is that we haven't known each other for long and you are well within your rights to not tell me everything. I understand."

"Lucy, it's not that I don't trust you or don't want you to know-"

"You don't have to explain." She said quickly. "I understand."

"Then why do I feel like you aren't okay?" Natsu said, noticing the strain of her smiles and tapping of her foot.

"It's just… alright I need to ask you something. Whatever your answer is, it's okay. I'm not going to be mad or disappointed or anything. I just need to know the answer."

"Shoot." Natsu said, hoping a smile would ease what was suddenly starting to feel like a very tense situation.

"At the end of the Coronal Contests," Lucy said with a deep breath, "Is there even the slightest chance that you would agree to… marry me and become a king?"

Natsu's heart froze. He couldn't respond for a moment.

"My father thinks I should chose Gray or Laxus." She said, not surprised by his lack of answer. "And my mind is telling me that they would be the more logical choice as well. But my heart is telling me something different. I never thought in a million years going into these contests that I would actually find someone that I could fall in love with. But now… I think I have. I know you don't have any interest in being King. And I know the last thing you want to do is get married. But I just need to know… is there any chance that you may change your mind?"

Natsu's mouth dropped open. His heart was beating awfully fast. He had been so consumed with finding a cure, with protecting Lucy, with keeping up his deal with Eldia that he hadn't even considered what Lucy was feeling. He knew they got along well. He didn't quite understand what exactly it was that they had between them, but he knew something special was there. But he never would have considered that she would want to pick him above someone like Gray or Laxus to marry. Did she seriously want _him_ as a husband? Was that even what she was saying? Or was she just covering all her bases and thinking about different possibilities in the future?

Lucy was patient, but Natsu had stood silent for too long. Lucy swallowed and nodded her head once, taking his silence as an answer. Her eyes watered once more, but she leaped on her horse before the wetness could manifest into tears.

"I understand." She said stiffly. "I wouldn't expect you to want this."

Natsu shook his head. "Lucy…"

The princess grabbed the reins and urged her horse forwards.

"Lucy." Natsu grabbed her wrist and looked right into her eyes. There was so much he wanted to say, but he just didn't have the words to get any of it out.

Lucy smiled a sad smile with perfectly round eyes.

"I know." She said simply. "You don't have to say anything. I know."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hey guys! I have such great plans for this story. Everything is going to come together like a beautiful symphony in the end. That means my greatest concern is actually getting to the end. I really want to finish this story and that means I'm going to start moving the plot along towards its climax. Don't worry. There is still a lot more chapters yet to come, I just wanted to let everyone know that A.) I WILL finish this story no matter how slow my updates are and B.) This story isn't going to be one of those crazy long fics.**

 **I can't thank you guys enough for sticking with me this long. You are incredible.**


	12. Chapter 12: Not According to Plan

Chapter 12

Not According to Plan

You know those days where everything goes according to plan? From sunrise to sundown, every part of the day reads like the script of a play- except there are no plot twists or cliff hangers? Yeah, June 24th, the day of the Second Contest was definitely _not_ one of those days.

It started off pretty normal. Lucy woke up with the sun and dallied a few moments in bed before rolling out onto the floor and stumbling across the room to access her wardrobe. She had to pick out a dress for the day. Normally, of course, she had her Lady-in-Waiting and best friend, Levy McGarden to help her get ready, but that plucky bluenette had been excused from her duties for the morning. Since Gajeel was participating in the Coronal Contest that day, he had been released from all of his knightly obligations- which meant he had some valuable free time that Lucy urged Levy to exploit. The blonde figured the two lovebirds were off in some desolate corner of the castle together, canoodling and cuddling and whatever people with a normal relationship did.

As Lucy nearly broke her arms in the attempt to tighten her own corset, she bitterly acknowledged that she was not one of those people. She was a girl who had a massive probably-more-than-just-a-crush on a boy that she could never be with. She needed a husband and a king. He didn't want anything to do with that.

She tried not to dwell on that fact for too long, but it was to no avail. She couldn't help but let her thoughts drift off to the day she had spent with Natsu on his farm. She was so happy that she had actually been able to locate it. She started near the town they had first met in and then strained her memory to remember how he described the farm to her. After that, it was relatively easy to find. But not all of her trip had been as blissful and magical as she would have liked. It ended on a sour note: the realization that they could never be anything more than Queen and subject in the future.

Wondering if that reality would ever sit well in her heart, Lucy moved to put on her makeup. That part was easier. It took her a half hour longer than usual, but eventually Lucy was ready to be Princess Lucy.

She met up with her father in the main room of their Family living quarters and they headed down to the outdoors battle arena where the Second Contest would be taking place. In light of the recent assassination attempts on her life, they were accompanied by no less than ten castle guards and four knights.

"This Contest should be much more interesting to behold." King Jude said conversationally to his daughter, snapping her out of her flurry of thoughts.

"Oh yes." She agreed blandly.

"I've always considered ability in combat to be one of the most important qualities in a King." He went on. "It was in the Contest of Strength where I truly won over your mother back when I competed in the Coronal Contests for her hand."

Lucy perked up at the mention of her mother. "Really?"

"Certainly. The Contest was a joust. I defeated all the other participants and I was rewarded with a private dinner with Layla. She told me after that night, her mind was made up about who she wanted to be her King."

"And you credit it to your success in the Joust?"

"Of course. What else?" He said, prompting Lucy to giggle.

"Have you ever thought that it was at dinner, not the joust, where you won mom's heart?"

Jude looked as if a lightbulb had gone off over his head. "Perhaps you are onto something… But nevertheless, I encourage you to pay close attention to this contest."

"Of course I will." Lucy said shortly. She had a bad feeling about where her father was going with this.

"Especially to Prince Gray and General Laxus. Both are very accomplished in combat."

"I'll pay close attention to all of the contestants." Lucy said evasively.

King Jude stopped in his tracks suddenly. Lucy stopped walking as well. Her father looked at her closely with a new aura of seriousness on his face.

"Lucy, dear, there is something I must ask you." He said.

"You can ask me anything."

"There have been… whisperings… about your inclination towards the farm boy, Natsu Dragneel. I know he was the one who saved you from the arrow- and for that he will always be a friend to the crown- but I must know, you aren't intending to select _him_ as your husband, are you?"

Of course, the answer at this point was no, but that didn't stop Lucy from getting angry at her father.

"I don't know who I'm going to pick." She replied sharply, her brown eyes testing her father, daring him to say something else on the subject. He dared.

"Listen, darling. I only want to remind you that the man you select as your husband will be the King of Fiore. Much responsibility will be placed in his hands and-"

"I know." Lucy said, cutting him off. "That's all I've been able to think about for the past few months."

"I know this as well." Her father's voice was calm yet authoritative, perfection that came from years of sitting on a throne. "I _am_ still the King, however. And that means it's my duty to worry about the safety and wellbeing of my country."

"How about we just cut to the chase." Lucy said. For some reason her eyes were starting to feel very wet. It had been an emotional few days- it had been an emotional few months. The last thing she needed was for her father to scold her for choosing a guy who didn't want to be chosen. "You don't want me to pick Natsu. Because he's poor, because wouldn't make a good king, whatever. You're scared that I'm going to pick Natsu and send all of Fiore into ruins."

Her father was silent for a moment before he said, "I wasn't going to phrase it like that."

Lucy shook her head incredulously. "You aren't even trying to deny it."

"I will not lie to you."

"But you did." The wetness was threatening to form complete tears now. "You said before all of this started that you trusted me to make my own choices. Are you changing your mind now?"

"No." Jude said. He was clearly uncomfortable with how this conversation was turning. He didn't want his daughter to cry… "I still trust you to make the right decision. However, I will not be able to stand by if your choice threatens the safety of the Kingdom."

Lucy stared at her father, unable to find any more words to argue with. Her father was not a man who could be persuaded. Now that she understood his intention, there was no debating it. He let her believe that she could chose whoever she wanted, but now it was clear that those words were always a lie.

Betrayal. Hurt. Regret. A fully formed tear now rolled down Lucy's cheek until it dripped off of her chin. It was such a shame. This conversation didn't even need to happen. She already knew she couldn't chose Natsu. The only thing gained from this conversation was the realization that she never truly had a choice. Her destiny was and always will be decided by someone else.

"I'm not going to choose Natsu." She told her father quietly.

"Good." He said, taken aback by her sudden agreeance.

"Do you really love mom?" She asked suddenly.

"Yes. Of course I do." He said. His voice was immediately defensive. "I love her immensely. She is the reason I am stepping down from the throne when she passes! I refuse to marry another woman besides her."

"That's nice. You and mom didn't have to marry someone you didn't love. But I do." Her voice was shaking. Of course she didn't want her dad to marry another woman, but the whole situation just didn't seem _fair._ "Why am I the only one who loses?"

"If your suggesting that this isn't just as difficult for me- that I am not losing anything-"

"I'm not. I'm just venting." Lucy said. "I am a teenager after all. We're supposed to say stupid things to our parents."

"Lucy-"

"Don't worry, dad." She said. "I'll marry Laxus. I don't think Gray is too interested. But Laxus is dutiful and loyal. He will be a fine King."

Her dad's look was one of defeat. He knew what she was feeling but there was nothing he could do about it. "I don't want you to be unhappy."

"I better get going." Lucy said. "Even though I've made my decision, we can't cancel the contest now. We invited an audience to witness the battles, didn't we? I shouldn't keep anyone waiting."

With that, Lucy walked away. She wasn't crying anymore. She needed to just deal with the facts. Life wasn't fair. Her destiny was to marry Laxus. She and Natsu were never going to be together.

But still… she wasn't Queen yet. As she told her father, she _was_ still a teenager. And teenagers do stupid things.

Perhaps she deserved one last moment of being a teenager.

XXX

The Second Contest was a test of strength. It was a fairly straightforward ordeal. The seven contestants would participate in a series of battles in a championship style bracket until a winner was chosen. The fighting would take place in the Oval Arena, a large mecca for jousting, duals and swordplay located on the castle grounds. Shaped as it was named, the arena had rows and rows of raised seating that wrapped around a blank dirt battlefield. There were several special seating boxes designated for nobles and other prestigious guests in attendance for the event. The largest of the boxes was for the royal family. This was where Lucy would watch the proceedings.

The first round of match ups were as followed: Natsu vs Sting, Gajeel vs Loke, and Gray vs Rogue. Being the Chief Commanding General of the Fiore Army, Laxus got a bye through the first round of fights.

Standing next to Lucy was Erza. She stepped forward and addressed the crowd.

"The Coronal Contest contestants shall test their strength against each other in a combat competition! Each battle will last for ten minutes unless one contestant faints or admits defeat. The winner will be decided by the princess! Killing is not allowed but any form of weapon is! The first battle will feature Natsu Dragneel versus Gentleman Sting Eucliffe!"

Upon mention of their names, Natsu and Sting took the field. Lucy's heart went through a slight tizzy as she saw Natsu. Even though hundreds of eyes were watching him, expecting him to fall to another of higher status, he looked relaxed and brave. Like a warrior. Expect with considerably less armor.

"Commence the battle!" Erza commanded. Lucy turned her eyes to the action.

Natsu was glaring at Sting with fierce intensity- not unlike what she had walked in on during the First Contest. Perhaps these two did have a history together. They clearly did not get along.

Sting was the first to move. Bearing a long and lethal-looking sword, he ran towards Natsu at full speed. For a moment, Lucy felt a pang of worry for the pink haired boy. He had brought no weapon to the fight. He had only his bare hands. That didn't seem to bother him, however. Natsu grinned.

Sting slashed his sword at Natsu but it never made contact. Sidestepping the attack easily, Natsu stole Sting's sword right out of his hands as if he were taking candy from a baby. Wearing a look of satisfied victory, Natsu tossed the sword aside. The metal clanged against the ground. The crowd roared with amusement. None of them had been expecting this outcome. Looking even angrier that before, Sting charged at Natsu once more.

And Natsu punched him right in the head. Sting was down. Down for good.

Lucy winced a little bit upon the contact. Yikes, that must have hurt. But ultimately she was unable to suppress the grin that spread across her face. She stood up to address the roaring crowd. "The victor is Natsu Dragneel! He proceeds to the second round."

Natsu turned to Lucy and preformed a formal bow to her from the arena floor below. They locked eyes for a moment. He even smiled at her. Upon seeing those deep dark eyes, upon seeing that crooked smile, Lucy's heart melted instantly and a whole new batch of butterflies started to twirl in her stomach. She wanted to rush down to him in that moment, but she reminded herself that she needed to be patient.

The next two fights were rather uneventful; Lucy could barely force herself to pay attention as her mind was somewhere else entirely. However, she did manage to announce the results easily enough. Being a trained knight, Gajeel took care of Loke quickly and efficiently. Gray preformed magnificently in his battle as well. He defeated Rogue with ease, moving around with a grace and fluidity that she didn't know to expect from him. With that, the first round of battles concluded. The next round would feature a matchup first between Laxus and Natsu and then Gray and Gajeel. But Lucy couldn't just sit around and wait for those fights to be over. Her heart was pounding at what had to be an unhealthy rate. The image of Natsu burned in her mind. The moment where she would have to claim Laxus as her husband was rapidly approaching. She had to act now. Before she ran out of time.

Before her common sense kicked back in.

Excusing herself discreetly for the bathroom, she left the Royal Box, descended down a set of stairs and hurriedly headed towards the Contestant's tent, which was where the contestants waited to be called into battle. She poked her head inside as professionally as she could, clearing her throat to speak in a positively princess-like tone.

"Excuse me, but could I have a word with Natsu Dragneel for a moment?"

Natsu, who had previously been arguing with Gray about something, turned his head to look at her in confusion.

"Sure." He said with a shrug. He followed her out of the tent. Her heart began to pound even faster. There was no going back now.

"This way." Lucy said urgently, leading him to another tent not too far away. She checked over her shoulder to make sure no one else was following.

"Where we going?" He asked in confusion. "Luce, are you okay? You look a little…"

"I'm fine." She said quickly. She peaked inside the weapons tent, making sure that no one was in there for the moment. Once the coast was clear, she gestured for him to follow her inside. The tent was large and spacious, decorated wall to wall with shields, maces, axes, knives, and every type of sword known to man. It wasn't the most romantic setting, but it was private and quiet.

Natsu closed the tent flap behind her and they were finally alone. Natsu walked up to her, confusion still reading across his face. He waited for her to explain.

"I've decided something." Lucy announced. Her nerves caused her voice to waver slightly. All the emotions- excitement, guilt, anticipation, wonder, bravery- were bubbling up inside her at the same time.

"You have?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. He clearly had no idea of her intentions. Lucy wasn't sure if that made this more exciting or terrifying.

"Yes." She nodded her head with a gulp.

"Sheesh, Luce, lighten up! You look like it's the end of the world or somethin'-"

She shot him a look that said this wasn't the time for goofiness. He caught on pretty fast and adopted a serious expression as well. Lucy took a deep breath. This was it. This could be her last genuine exchange with Natsu. She had to make every word count. She had to make him understand where she was coming from. She had to make sure that neither of them would have any regrets…

"I know that I can't chose you at the end of the contests. I'm going to have to marry someone I don't love. And… that means I can't let this opportunity go to waste."

"What do you mean?" He asked through narrowed eyes. Lucy plowed forward. It was simultaneously difficult to look into his eyes and away from them. Natsu, as if feeling her confliction, stepped closer to her and grabbed her hand, letting it dangle loosely between them. Lucy was startled by the electricity that surged up her forearm. It even made her body shiver.

"I like you, Natsu." She said, forcing the words out before she could back down. "I've never felt like this about anyone ever before and that means… I can't let this opportunity go to waste. In the near future, I'm going to be married and a Queen. But right now… I'm not. And that means I can be irresponsible and rash and impulsive and do what _I_ want to do. I'll never get this chance again."

As she spoke, she gripped his hand tighter and moved closer to him. And if she wasn't mistaken, he was moving closer to her as well. Unmistakable heat welled up between them. Their faces were so close now. His lips were only inches away. She licked her own in anticipation.

"And what do you want to do?" Natsu asked. His voice was innocent. Curious. She could tell by staring into his eyes that he finally knew what she was talking about, but didn't want to make any assumptions. He was leaving the ball in her court.

And that was when Lucy took the leap. Slowly and surely, she parted her lips and moved ever so carefully towards him, closing her eyes as she did so.

She kissed him, touching her lips softly to his. And for a brief moment everything was right in the world. There were no contests; there was no kingdom to rule; there was no responsibility. It was just him and her. A boy and a girl.

The kiss was gentle. It was sweet. And even though the entire kingdom would rise up in protest if they knew about it, the kiss was innocent. It was right.

When they finally pulled away, Lucy felt lightheaded and tingly all over. Her head was spinning and her heart was pounding. There was no air left in her lungs. He had stolen it all away.

"Thank you." Lucy said softly.

Natsu didn't respond for a moment. He was catching his breath too. When he did respond, his voice was breathless and his eyes were still half closed. Lucy was pleased with the idea that she could have the same effect on him as he did on her.

"What the hell are you thanking me for?" Natsu said softly, shaking his head. He allowed his face to remain close to hers, hovering so close that it almost felt like he was going to kiss her again. It took every ounce of control in her body to resist the urge to forsake her country and kiss him until the end of time.

"For letting me have this." She replied simply. Then she straightened up, throwing her shoulders back and resuming posture fitting of a princess. Although she only created about a foot of distance between them, it felt like a mile. Even though Natsu clearly wasn't pleased by her response, Lucy continued to talk in a brisk tone. "I appreciate you understanding my situation and allowing me to be selfish for a brief moment. However, nothing has changed. Our respective futures remain unaltered. I am still going to marry Laxus and you… You said you wanted to be in this competition as long as possible, right? I'll keep you in it until you give me the word. But just so that there isn't any confusion, our relationship is over. We had unfinished business. Now we don't. Thank you again, Natsu, for all the time we spent together."

Natsu stared at her with his eyes wide. And then he reacted in the exact opposite way of how she thought he would. He laughed out loud. And it wasn't harsh or cynical. It was out of amusement. A pure-hearted chuckle. "Man, you really don't make sense sometimes."

Lucy felt the familiar flash of irritation that she got whenever Natsu did stuff like that. She balled her hands up into fists. "I thought I was making myself clear."

Natsu shook his head and then proceeded to demolish the barriers that she had set up around herself. He placed both of his hands lightly on either side of his face so that she had no choice but to pay complete attention to the words he had to say.

"Don't give up before the battle is lost, Luce." He told her sternly. "I told you, I'm working on a solution to all of this. I just need you to hold out for me a little longer, okay?" Then his face broke into a smile as if he suddenly remembered today was actually his birthday. "And speaking of battles, I got a matchup with that guy Laxus. Should be pretty fun. He looks tough. I should get going. See yah, Luce. I'll catch you after the fight!"

And just like that he was gone, leaving Lucy with a pounding heart and a flushed face. She wore a look of sheer disbelief as she shook her head. That boy had a way of compromising everything she ever believed in. She had resigned to marry someone she didn't love for the sake of her country. She had made up her mind that it was best to let Natsu go. She only wanted one moment with him before they said goodbye for good. They kissed and it was wonderfully bittersweet. And that was supposed to be the end of it. But then he gave her that smile and made her believe once more that perhaps…. they did have a shot together.

He gave her hope. A vain, ridiculous, irrational hope, but hope nevertheless. And it felt pretty good- almost as good as her first kiss.

Almost.

XXX

Normally Natsu had no problem focusing on a fight. Whenever a powerful opponent lay before him it was all too easy to shut out the word and focus on nothing else but the power of his fists. And with Laxus, the Head-Honcho-Commander-General-Whatever-His-Title-Was, standing in front of him, the fact that Natsu couldn't get his mind to focus was especially confounding.

The truth was he couldn't stop thinking about the moment he shared inside the weapons tent with Lucy. He didn't know what to expect when she brought him in there, but he ended up being so happy she did. It was clear that Lucy had given up on whatever relationship they did have. She resigned to let him go and focus on her responsibilities as the to-be Queen. She had kissed him, thinking that it had been the last time she could act on her desires instead of what was best for her country.

Too bad she didn't realize that in doing so, she ensured that Natsu would fight even harder not to let go. He _was_ going to find the cure. He _was_ going to heal her mom. He _was_ going to make sure that Lucy didn't have to marry some like Laxus or Sting or Rogue. And most of all he was going to make sure that kiss wasn't the last one they shared. If he was being honest, that was the greatest cause for his distraction: the softness of her lips, the sweet smell of her hair, the smooth perfection of her skin...

Erza's voice ringing out around the arena snapped him back into reality. "And now let us proceed to the first match of the second round! The same rules apply! Natsu Dragneel versus General Laxus Dreyar! Battle commence!"

Both being talented fighters, neither contestant moved instantly upon the start of the battle. With sharp blue eyes, Laxus sized up with much smaller opponent and for the first time, Natsu did the same.

The blonde had the size advantage on him- that was for sure. He was about five inches taller and much, much wider. From head to toe, his body was ripped with muscles. Normally that would slow a fighter down, but Natsu had the feeling that this guy would be able to move around fairly quickly. And what he lacked in mobility he could easily make up for with the long silver sword strapped to his belt and the large Fiore Emblem encrusted shield he held in his left arm. To gain his rank, he must be a skilled swordsman without any obvious weaknesses. And then there was his intellect too. Not only did he show his wits in the First Contest, but he was bound to have a brain full of battle strategies from being in charge of an army. Despite knowing all this, Natsu grinned and cracked his fists. Finally. He was fired up and ready to go. He didn't get many chances to fight period, let alone fight against someone who might be able to give him a challenge. This was going to be fun.

"You bring no weapon?" Laxus asked him. His voice was stiff and calculating, radiating doubtless authority.

Natsu grinned, swinging his arms around in a stretch. "Don't need one."

To the crowd, he must look a little stupid. He had no weapon to fight with and no armor across his chest. All he wore was a plain off-white shirt stained with dust and dirt that no amount of washing could remove.

"Very well." Laxus said. He unsheathed his sword and dropped it on the ground. His shield was quickly discarded beside it. "Then I will use no weapon either."

Natsu raised an eyebrow. "There's no need, pal. I'm going to beat your face in whether you use a sword or not."

"I fight with honor." Laxus said, unperturbed by Natsu's bold words. "I will not battle an opponent on unequal footing."

Natsu shrugged. "Suite yourself. Alright. Enough talking. Let's go!"

Never one to wait for his enemy to attack first, Natsu charged towards the much larger blonde man, who in turn raised his fists like a boxer. Natsu went easy on his first punch, testing to see how much his opponent could handle. Laxus blocked the blow to his face with ease and then responded with a combination attack of his own.

Natsu dodged and blocked the flying fists and kicks, but it wasn't as easy as he thought it was going to be. Even without any magical power, Laxus was strong. The thick ridges of muscle that lined his arms weren't just for show; they had real strength behind them. After blocking one particular punch, Natsu considered the fact that his forearm might actually bruise because of it.

That was when he went back on the offensive and soon the pair of fighters were locked in a cycle of vicious combat. If it were a contest of pure physical strength alone, Laxus would be the victor. However, Natsu easily had the edge on speed and agility. Plus he had his magic which would secure him an unconditional victory, but there was no way he could use _that_ in front of Laxus, Lucy and an entire crowd of spectators.

No, he would have to settle this with hand to hand combat alone, and that notion excited the dragon slayer to no end.

"You fight well." Laxus said, right before he took an elbow to his chest.

"You're not bad yourself." Natsu bantered back, ducking to avoid a left jab.

"I've had military and combat training since I was 2 years old." Laxus replied as he leaped into the air in order to dodge a low sweeping kick that Natsu aimed at his ankles. As he jumped, he grabbed Natsu's leg and flipped him into the air as well. "You are a farm rat. Your strength is understandable, but your skill in battle is not. Tell me, what sort of training have you been doing on that farm of yours?"

Performing a summersault in the air to regain control of his body, Natsu landed back on the ground gracefully. He scowled, knowing this trick had only confirmed Laxus' suspicions.

How was he supposed to respond to _that_? He thought back to all the hours he had spent training with Igneel as a kid. From sunup to sundown, their days had been filled with a medley of farm work and training. Igneel taught him how to use his Fire Dragon Slaying Magic and made sure that he had the physical strength to back it up. Natsu even remembered his Uncle visiting the farm all the time to test his limits. Laxus started his training at 2 years old? Please, Natsu was learning how to fight and use magic since the day he was born. He just flashed a sly smile at Laxus.

"I don't think that's any of your business, pal." Natsu sprang forward and landed a punch in Laxus' gut. However, the man still had enough breath to talk with an evil glint in his eye.

"But it is. I'm very interested to know just how you became such an accomplished fighter."

Alright, now Natsu was getting frustrated by his constant probing.

"I'll let you in on a little secret. I don't chit-chat while I fight!" Natsu hissed back.

"I don't think that's the secret at all." His voice was a pure threat.

"What are you trying to say?!"

"Your father, Igneel, disappeared eleven years ago, leaving you with your stepmother and two stepbrothers, Sting and Rogue."

Natsu's eyes widened in shock. How the hell did Laxus know that? He looked over his shoulder to make sure that no one- especially Lucy- could hear. The crowd was roaring so loud that their words were drowned out in the noise. But still. Natsu could hear loud and clear.

"You researched me?!" His voice faltered as he tried to remain calm. "I didn't know you cared about me that much. I'm flattered."

"It's strange. Why would you and your dear little sister remain in such an unfavorable situation? Perhaps you are hiding something?"

"I ain't hiding nothing!"

Natsu was now purely on the defensive. But Laxus wasn't throwing any punches. All of the blonde's ammunition was in his words. They were enough to make Natsu sweat. And to make him angry.

"I would appear that way. Until your connection to Gildarts Clive, a notorious rogue wizard, is factored into the equation."

"Uncle Gildarts?" Natsu gasped in surprise. Then he dropped his voice into a viscous growl. "Where is he?"

Natsu hadn't seen his Uncle Gildarts in years. He used to come around to the Dragneel farm all the time, but ever since Igneel disappeared and Eldia took over, his visits became less and less frequent. Recently, his visits had become nonexistent. He thought that Gildarts was avoiding Eldia or in hiding himself, but the mention of his name turned Natsu's blood cold. No matter what had happened, Gildarts was family. If Laxus knew about their relationship…

The General cut through Natsu's flurry of thought with a sneer of contempt. It was full of hatred and satisfaction.

"Where he belongs. In Prison."

"You bastard!" Natsu roared. He was pretty sure everyone in the arena heard _that_ , but Natsu was past the point of remaining calm. He had been screwing around in this idiot contest while his uncle was being held prisoner in the dungeons?

"You better watch your tongue, Dragneel. Because I think that's where you belong as well." Laxus, on the other hand kept his cool. This was all business for him. And he was about to close a two-for-one deal. "I think that you, your father and your little sister are wizards as well. I think that you are only in the Coronal Contests to poison Princess Lucy with your magic just like her mother was poisoned by the likes of Gildarts Clive. I just have to prove it."

"That's what you think?! You're full of shit! Gildarts would never hurt anybody and I sure as hell would never do anything to hurt Lucy!" Natsu had long since dispensed with the whispers, exploding his voice into a full yell. However the crowd, impatient from all the standing and talking, grew in volume as well, once more drowning Natsu's voice in the sea of yells.

"But he has. And so have you. Magic is poison. It has taken many lives. It is what is killing the Queen as we speak!"

"It's all a lie! Magic isn't evil. I don't know what is hurting the Queen, but it isn't because of wizards!"

"You are the liar. And a criminal. Just like your "Uncle" Gildarts. I will see to it that he is executed for his sin. And I will spend my last breath ensuring wizards like yourself join him. I will have justice!"

That was the final straw. Natsu hit his boiling point. Literally.

Without thinking, his entire body erupted into flames. He didn't hear the gasp and screams escape from the crowd; he only concentrated on the whips of flames that spring forth from his arms and danced around the arena in streams of fiery wrath. Even if his opponent wasn't frozen stiff in a mixture of terror and awe, he wouldn't have been able to avoid the attack.

"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!" Natsu roared, making his voice heard above all of the surrounding commotion. The slender wings of flames lashed at the General, sending his flying backwards, grunting in pain.

Next, with a flaming fist, Natsu flashed with amazing speed to appear in front of his opponent. He hesitated briefly so that Laxus could appreciate his speed and power before finishing the job by unleashing his iron fist square on Laxus' jaw.

He purposefully didn't use enough of his power to knock the General unconscious. He wanted Laxus to hear what he had to say.

"Look, man. I get where you are coming from with all this justice talk, but you don't have to be such an asshole about it." Natsu was beginning to calm down beneath the satisfaction of finally using his magic after so long. But calming down also meant realizing exactly what situation he had gotten himself into. He glanced over his shoulder and saw tons of castle guards and knights streaming into the arena with their weapons raised threateningly. That didn't really bother him. The sight that turned his stomach upside down was seeing Lucy in the Royal Box. Her eyes were wide with fear and betrayal. Her mouth was a grimace and it was directed at him. It was as if Natsu could see the moment her world came crashing down around her. That filled Natsu with renewed anger and determination as he spoke to the fallen general in front of him.

"You're not going to lay a finger on Gildarts. You're not going to hurt or imprison another innocent wizard ever again. I'm going to find the cure for Lucy's mom _and_ I'm going to prove once and for all that magic isn't evil!"

"You will fail." Laxus wheezed out the words with great effort. A smug smile appeared on his face. "You're not even going to make it out of this arena."

Natsu got up and looked around quickly for an escape route. He couldn't find one. The guards and knights were closing in on him quickly from all angles. He grinned. He just needed to make a path of his own then.

"Fire Dragon's Roar." Letting out a deep breath, a jet of flame erupted from Natsu's mouth, knocking away enough enemies to clear a path towards a section of the stands where the audience had already evacuated (they thought that being near his magic would cause them to fall ill of EIV too). He didn't break the stream of flame and used it to completely demolish the section of the arena walls, forming a hole for him to escape through.

He started sprinting towards the DIY hole, knocking aside armed soldiers as he went with his bright medley of flaming limbs.

He looked one last time at where Lucy used to be sitting. She had already been ushered away to safety.

"I'm coming back for you, Luce. I promise."

In his moment's hesitation, even more soldiers had assembled in the arena. A huge horde of them were blocking his exit. Natsu grimaced as he use some more dragon slaying magic to fend off a trio of burly knights than had jumped at him. Archers had gathered in the stands as well, sending waterfalls of arrows in his direction. They were easy enough to dodge or deflect, but it was distracting. He needed to figure out a way out of here. There were so many more soldiers blocking his path now that it would take some serious fire power to knock them out of the way. He wasn't sure he could do it without hurting a lot of people. The last thing he wanted to do was give magic an even worse name.

More guards were closing in on him. This time he spun around in a tornado of flames to create a little distance.

But Natsu wasn't expecting the cannonball. It was too late. He didn't see that a group of guards had set up a cannon. He didn't see that they had fired the cannon while he was creating his flaming cyclone. He had already released the flames and didn't have enough time to move or conjure them back. The cannon shot was rattling straight towards him-

"Ice Make: Hammer!"

Suddenly there was a young man leaping past the crowds and into the air while wielding a giant hammer made of glassy blue ice. He swung the hammer at the cannonball, smashing it into dust. There was no mistaking it. That wasn't ordinary ice. That was magic. And Prince Gray Fullbuster was the one using it.

"What the-" Natsu started to stammer as Gray landed softly on the open ground next to him. He threw his hammer like a boomerang, knocking out a row of Knights who were getting too close.

"What the hell are you just standing around for, flame brain? Get a move on!" Gray shouted at him, looking positively pissed that he was forced to interfere.

Natsu chucked out a few more fireballs at the enemies, but he couldn't get over what he just saw. He shouted at Gray with his hands in the air.

"You're a wizard?!"

"Yeah, dufus. Magic isn't illegal in every country, you know. And I'd be pretty dumb to broadcast my powers in this place. But clearly you meet that requirement. Ice make: Geyser!"

Gray slammed his palms to the ground and a giant mouth of ice erupted up from it, taking out about 30 guards and knights at once. Not wanting to be outdone, Natsu hollered "Fire Dragon's: Brilliant Flame!" and threw a massive fire ball in the opposite direction, taking out a large section of adversaries himself. He also wanted to shout a snide remark back at Gray, but the Ice Make wizard was already yelling something else at him.

"So how are we getting out of here? Please tell me you have a better escape plan than blowing a hole in the side of the arena!"

"Nope that was all I had."

"Idiot!"

"Shut up, frosty!"

"I always gotta do everything myself." Gray said with an exaggerated eye roll. "Ice make: Stairs!"

To the amazement of everyone left in the arena, a giant staircase made entirely of ice rose up from the ground like a path to heaven. It led up and out into the open.

Without missing a beat, Natsu charged up the icy staircase with Gray cold on his heels.

Soldiers and knights followed them up swiftly, although a few did hesitate at the sight of even more magic. Or maybe they were just hesitant to pursue the Prince of another country. Either way, the two wizards got a decent head start.

The staircase rose up over the stands of the arena. Once the boys cleared the wall, Gray used a little more ice make magic to create a bridge that led right over the heads of the new group of soldiers gathering on the grounds outside of the arena below. Once they ran past most of the trouble, Gray formed a slide so that they could safely descend back to the ground. He then dispelled his Ice Make creation, causing all the soldiers who had followed them to plummet to a very uncomfortable landing.

Natsu and Gray were on the home stretch. All of the castle security was concentrated at the arena, which was behind them now. A quick sprint would land them outside castle grounds and into the cover of the woods.

Gray pointed at the line of trees in the distance. "That way. Let's get out of here."

Natsu shook his head. "We gotta make a pit stop at the dungeons first."

"What?! I knew you were stupid, but that is crazy even for you! We can't be making any stops! The whole legion will be after us soon!"

"I gotta break my Uncle Gildarts out of prison!"

"Can't that wait till later?"

"They're going to kill him!"

"Ugh, why does this crap always happen to me?"

"That's the spirit!"

The boys switched directions and sprinted up a hill, towards the castle.

Running at full speed, they made it into the dungeons easily enough. Once they were submerged in the shadowy depths of the labyrinth-like prison, Natsu shouted at the top of his voice.

"Uncle Gildarts?! Uncle Gildarts, where are you?! GILDARTS?"

Gray covered his ears at the noise, but eventually a soft response came. With his heightened hearing, Natsu could make out the sound of a familiar voice.

"This way!" Natsu charged off down a certain corridor, gesturing for Gray to follow him.

"Hurry. The guards are closing in behind us."

"No big deal."

"I don't suppose you have a plan for getting out of here either, do you?"

"Course not."

"Figures."

They must have run for half a mile before finally reaching a desolate cell in the far corner of the dungeons. But it was worth it. Inside the cell crouched the dirty form of a man who used to be large and muscular. A lot of his body mass had vanished, but the man was still recognizable. Natsu grinned.

"Long time no see, Uncle Gildarts."

"Hey, kid." The auburn haired prisoner responded as he slowly rose to his feet. "Took you long enough to find me."

"Didn't know I was supposed to be looking."

"Might be a good idea to catch up later." Gray interrupted the reunion as he stepped forwards to freeze the bars of the cell. Natsu punched the frozen iron and it shattered to the floor like glass. Gildarts was able to finally step outside of his cell.

The footsteps coming down the corridor grew louder and louder. Angry shouts echoed between the narrow stone walls.

"We got company." Gildarts commented.

"I'll catch you up later." Natsu said. He then shot a mischievous look at Gray. "But now, it's time for the escape plan."

"This can't be good." The prince said.

"These dungeons are huge and we ran a long way to get to Gildarts cell. That means we are beyond the foundation of the castle. The only thing above us is an empty field."

"So?"

"FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!" Natsu unleashed a mighty stream of flame from his mouth and directed it straight up into the air. The magic fire burst through the ceiling of the dungeon and into the open sky above, clearing a vertical tunnel for escape.

"Nice one, kid." Gildarts laughed.

"Your turn, ice princess."

"Shut it, fire freak." Gray shot back he then knelt down to the ground and concentrated. "Ice Make: Tower!"

The ground beneath the three wizards' feet turned to ice and began to rapidly rise up through the hole Natsu made through the ceiling, acting like an elevator jetting them towards the world above. Within no time, they were back beneath a clear blue sky and fresh air. And the best part was that they were far enough away from the castle now to where there were no more guards or knights pursuing them. They had escaped.

Just to be sure, Gray made an icy boulder to cover the top of the escape hole so that they couldn't be followed.

Feeling victorious, Natsu smirked at Gray. "See? Sometimes no plan is the best plan."

"You would have been totally screwed without me."

Natsu opened his mouth, ready to protest, but no words came out for his defense. Gildarts slapped a mighty hand on his back.

"Your friend is right about that one, kid." He said, still laughing from the joy of being free again.

"Let's just get out of here." Natsu growled grumpily. He glanced from Gray to Gildarts. "We have a lot to talk about."

Suddenly, Gildarts straightened his back and grew very serious. "Yes. We do."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hi again! Wow, there was so much packed into this chapter!** ** **Natsu got to officially beat up Sting.** Natsu and Lucy finally kissed. It was all going great until Laxus made Natsu angry enough TO REVEAL HIS POWERS TO EVERYONE! This really shakes everything up. Oh, and yeah, Gray is a wizard too. He kept it on the down low while in Fiore, but yeah, back in the country of Minstrel, magic is legal. It just makes you wonder even more about why everyone in Fiore has all these huge misconceptions about magic... But yeah! Don't Gray and Natsu make an amazing team? They broke Gildarts out of prison and now the three of them are on the run. And how will Lucy react to all of this? From what we know so far, she isn't going to be too stoked. **

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter and that it was worth the wait! You would have gotten it much sooner if I wasn't out of town over the weekend hiking in a canyon:)**

 **Until next time!**


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